G E N E S I S
by NettikGirl
Summary: Heroes often start a long way from where they end up, and Sonic the Hedgehog's origin is no different. Was Robotnik always his foe? Was his fur always blue? Was he the confident hedgehog he is today? References to Fleetway, game prologue.
1. Grey Skies

This thing here… it's more of an attempt to explain Sonic's origin, _game wise_. So, though I'm giving a nod to the Fleetway Sonic the Comic, this is ultimately going to reference the game universe most of all.

I just hope this'll work. :\

Disclaimer : Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA

888

Green Hill Zone hadn't always been known for its peaceful weather, and lush vegetation. It hadn't been known for its friendly inhabitants or the wondrous views out to the brilliant blue ocean. It hadn't been known for much at all.

Not to say that none of these facts were true. Green Hill was indeed a peaceful place. But in this particular time, it suffered immensely from storms, floods, and all other kinds of natural disasters. None of the inhabitants really knew the cause. And they weren't prepared for any of it, either. Hence, it was a dark year for the Zone, as many of these Mobians were swept away or even drowned by each flood that struck them, week after week.

Due to constant destruction, it seemed that the Green Hill Zone would be forever wiped off the map, and unable to recover. Nobody could really grasp how all this damage could be undone. Or why it had all happened. The civilians of the area had begun to manage their unfortunate state, regardless, and move up to higher ground, safe from threatening waters.

None of them dared move back down, even when the weekly flood passed and the water level dropped. Nor did anybody leave his or her houses. As far as they were concerned, they were in trouble. And they needed help. They needed someone to save them from this constant threat.

Problematic as it was, there was no-one. There was no-one to save them, and from this threat, there was nothing that could be done, but wait.

Patience was needed in order to wait for the flooding waters to finally pass the civilians of the Green Hill Zone by.

And, patience was also needed to wait for the coming of age of their hero – who currently needed more saving than any of the current folk would ever need…

888

The rain cascaded down from the grey storm clouds that swirled violently above the troubled lands. Trees were pulled helplessly back and forth by the crazed winds, several branches threatening to snap off and lose themselves to the dark skies. Heavy raindrops came crashing down, plunging into trembling leaf after trembling leaf. The usual green fields of the Zone were stained with brown, sloppy mud…

Any observer could tell that this was turning out to be a disaster area.

And the observer who had just made this claim was currently sitting on the very top of a hill, overlooking the Zone.

If any inhabitant of the area had come to see this stranger in such circumstances, an uproar would have ensued. For this person was no Mobian. He was not even an animal, for that matter. He was a human. A scientist, to be more specific.

He had not come from another 'world,' as many Mobians would have claimed. This scientist had come from miles, countries, even continents away. He'd indeed come from half a world away – just to explore the unknown of what had been deemed "Mobius."

The scientist gave a sigh.

Green Hill Zone had looked promising. Upon arriving here, he'd found much to fascinate and amaze him. The civilians had appeared friendly; the weather had rivalled the beauty of Station Square's local beaches (before the freak thunderstorms had ensued, at least) – and on top of that, he'd been able to confirm many rumours and discard others.

For one, it had been officially decided what the Mobians had actually _looked_ like. Mere whisperings had debated on whether or not these creatures were actually animalistic in appearance. The strongest evidence for the theory, up until now, had come from Professor Gerald Robotnik's creation of the supposed, "Ultimate Life Form," said to be based off the appearance of a Mobian. Despite this claim, there had been no recorded image of such a creature, and such data regarding the matter was over almost 40 years old. This evidence was soon found as fraud – especially after Gerald's descent into a vengeful madness.

This statement had disappointed the scientist quite deeply. He'd always had faith in such a great man as Gerald. In fact, that man had inspired him, many a time, to also become a great scientist. To work hard, and create wonders, all for the sake of helping people…

The scientist rose, as a flash of lightning soon streaked amongst the dark, grey skies above, a deep rumble of thunder soon following after.

This man knew he would follow in the great Gerald's footsteps, and become the greatest scientist of all time. He knew he would surpass his adored grandfather.

He swore it on his name as Dr Ivo Robotnik.

888

It was still raining heavily as Robotnik continued to amble his way through the nearby forest of Green Hill. Though the rain had occasionally been lessening up, before once more plunging down, the scientist knew all too well that another one of the Zone's weekly floods could very well be on its way. Despite the thick and tangling vegetation, the Doctor managed to slip past quite easily – he was known to be rather skinny for his age.

His white labcoat-turned raincoat had been stained with flecks of mud around its base as he jogged throughout the drenched forest, droplets of rain trickling down his glasses, and making it increasingly difficult to see. Yet he was certain that he was heading in the right direction. He'd built his settlement right where his ship had crash-landed… and according to his calculations, if he'd continue in this direction for another twenty-one paces, and turn northeast, and continue nearly thirty-four paces in _that _direction, he would –

Robotnik's thought processes came to an abrupt halt as one of his feet were caught somewhere in the undergrowth, and he suddenly tripped over, landing in the soft, squishy mud with a loud _splat._

This man wasn't one to complain – yet he was somewhat annoyed at the fact that he now _definitely _could not see a thing, and that his entire labcoat was soaked in mud. Rising steadily, and removing his glasses, Robotnik cleansed them with his gloved fingers. It was all the more easier to rid the lenses of mud – the rain washed them clean in nearly five seconds flat.

Replacing him on his rather long nose, and sitting up all the way, he turned to see what exactly had tripped him up.

Half-buried in the mud, it appeared to be a small shrub of sorts. A small, brown shrub, with thick blades of…

The doctor rubbed his lenses. That couldn't be right.

A small shrub with what seemed to be _quills… _shivering violently – was that the wind?

Robotnik blinked. That couldn't be right, either. Internally, he began recording observations…

A small brown shrub with quivering quills, shaking violently… and the quills seemed to be rising and falling…rather quickly, but in a sort of rhythm…

The doctor made a sudden inference. The shrub was _alive. _

Hurriedly, he reached over, careful not to prick his gloved hands on the spines, and lifted the small creature from the soaked, suffocating mud. Yes, his inference was correct. The creature was alive, and barely breathing. Yet it only dimly, very dimly, seemed to be conscious.

Robotnik blinked, standing up and still holding the creature by its sides. From here, he could plainly see that, from arm's length, it was a hedgehog. A typical, Green Hill, Mobian hedgehog. And a rather young and exhausted one, at that.

Despite the general weak appearance of the young creature, the hedgehog's eyes only just remained open. And they did not portray a frightened weakness, nor sadness.

Its eyes were a fierce jade. They were tired – looking, yes, but determined. As if the young creature had been pushing himself continuously to stay awake through this suffocating weather.

Robotnik gave a sigh. The creature was still shivering rather violently from the cold. It wore nothing, no shoes, no gloves, no form of clothing at all.

He couldn't leave it _here,_ try as he might.

Reassuring himself that his base would only be a few minutes away, the scientist

gently placed the hedgehog back on the ground and removed his muddy lab coat. He didn't hesitate to wrap the small hedgehog up, regardless of its sharp spines – that coat was a lost cause, anyway.

Picking up the young creature, and tucking it under his arm, Robotnik hurried through the forest once again, picking up from where he had left off on his navigational calculations. And from its new, warm retreat, the hedgehog stared up continuously at its rescuer for a few good minutes, before exhaustion finally swept over it – enough to finally make it slip into unconsciousness.

888

Mud.

Mud and… water…

And rain. Rain, too.

Those were the only things he remembered, vaguely well. The images played, over and over, in his head. The cold, and wet ground… stumbling around in the forest…

Finally to collapse, and remain in the mud for… For Chaos knows how long…

So, when the young hedgehog reopened his eyes for the first time since falling into unconsciousness, he came to realise that he was in a very different place. His bleary, sleepy eyesight made out something rather different– instead of a dreary, cloudy sky with raindrops streaking down into his eyes, there was a ceiling.

A grey, metallic ceiling. He'd kinda thought that it _was_ a storm cloud, at first…

But, no. He was clearly 'inside.' There was no rain. And on top of that, he was warm. Something soft had been placed underneath his aching head. He was entirely comfortable, in contrast to his previous state.

The hedgehog was tempted to fall back asleep, again. He felt safe, here. Warm and sleepy. But a nagging curiosity had overtaken his young mind. It wasn't out of fear, or doubt. Merely out of the desire to know what had happened, and where he was. So, slowly, he sat up. And his surroundings were soon revealed to him.

The young Mobian had never seen such things in his life. Metal… _things _and junk were scattered about the floor. Nuts, bolts and vinelike wires snaked across the cold, steel ground, pouring out of half-completed … _machines, _he guessed.

Multicoloured lights flickered on and off, upon certain machines. Some even made soft _'whirr'-_ ing, or _'hmm'- _ing sounds. The hedgehog took all this in with great fascination, having never seen these kinds of objects and 'machinery,' before. The hedgehog wasn't sure how they all worked. And he wasn't really interested in those facts, for that matter.

He was interested, because they were all something _new._

Studying his surroundings for another good few minutes, his jade eyes gleaming with interest, his fascination soon dimmed, and his prior excitement faded away.

What else was there?

The hedgehog glanced down at himself. He sat on a metal table of sorts, a large white pillow formerly cushioning his head. A small, grey, woollen blanket had been draped over his small body. It was comfortable, though it was starting to get itchy. He pushed off his covers and carefully swung his legs over the side of the table.

His ears perked up, suddenly.

Jade eyes wide, and attentive, he glanced about the area. He thought he'd heard a loud _clatter _of sorts. It was still echoing a little, right now, throughout the room…

He blinked. It _was _a pretty big room.

His attention focused back to his current goal – reaching the floor. Glancing back down over the side of the table, he swung his legs back and forth, rather indecisively.

He wondered if this was safe. The floor was appearing further and further away from his dangling feet, as he continued to stare downwards, despite the fact that he was leaning forward, his head inches from his knees. What if he broke an arm? A leg?

His eyes grew wide, paranoia overcoming his small form.

…Or every bone in his body?!

The hedgehog didn't have to wait long to discover the outcome. In fact, as soon as a shiver had travelled down his spine at the very thought of such an injury, his small body had become unsteady, and on top of that, he was already leaning forward considerably far.

So, inevitably, he fell forward off the table.

And after performing a somersault and a half in mid-fall, landed hard on his head.

Pain shot through the hedgehog's skull, and he let out a loud yelp. He quickly sat up, tensing his whole body and gripping his head in pain. A couple of tears spilled over, though he was a little too frustrated to wallow in the despair of his own clumsiness.

Still, it didn't mean he hadn't sat there for a few minutes, seething in mild pain and anger.

So he was rudely shocked when a new voice reached him, startlingly nearby.

"That was quite a fall…"

888

Once again, Robotnik was taken aback at the unnaturally green eyes that the hedgehog shot up at him, wide in surprise, and slightly watery from slipping over. Though he could tell (quite easily) in this light that they were part of what made the creature appear so young, they also contained a kind of _spark. _As if it knew more than it let on.

The scientist shook his head, and crouched down to face the hedgehog at eye level. It rose back onto its feet as he did so, still rubbing the back of its head, though its jade gaze suddenly intense and stoic.

Coming from something so young, however, Robotnik was hardly deterred. He gave a small smile back, and the creature's expression faltered in confusion.

"An_ Erinaceus Europaeus, _if I'm not mistaken._"_ The scientist recited, earning an even more confused (and rather disarming) expression from the young hedgehog, whose arm fell back to its side, its shoulders slumping. Its eyes then narrowed, as if deep in thought.

And finally, for the first time, it spoke.

"…What's… _that… _mean?"

Robotnik gave a small nod, the voice confirming several of his theories about the small Mobian. For one, the hedgehog was definitely male. Though it hadn't been easy to reach this conclusion – his voice was rather young. The scientist estimated that the creature was at least eight, if not a little older.

"Never you mind." He replied, with a sigh. "Nothing you'd understand quite yet."

The hedgehog hesitated, before giving a nod. His expression had grown rather stoic again, though the façade slipped, once more, as a small rumble sounded from his small stomach. As if that had been some sort of reminder, he plopped back down on the ground, clutching his middle, his face screwed up in mild pain.

"…_Hungry…"_ He moaned, softly.

Robotnik exhaled, sharply. Of course. Adding onto the amount of time the hedgehog had been outside and lying facedown in the mud, the Mobian had been unconscious for a good nine hours.

The Doctor gave a small nod, standing up, once more.

"Stay there – I'll get you something…"

Which was how, nearly one hour later, Dr Ivo Robotnik found himself entirely deprived of two fifths (he'd performed the calculations himself) of his current food supplies. He hadn't expected much of an appetite, though he knew the hedgehog probably could not recall the last time he'd eaten.

But two eggs, a pitcher of water, five apples, a banana, a bowl of chicken and rice, two chilli dogs (he'd taken a personal liking to those…) and three ice cream bars – especially for such a small creature – was ridiculous.

Needless to say, a small belly had formed where the Mobian's ribs had been showing, no more than an hour or so, ago. And finally, the young creature had slowed down on his eating, though despite this, his eyes were still fixed on Robotnik, who had been observing him the entire time.

The hedgehog took one last bite into his third ice-cream bar, before glancing over at what remained. Pulling a face, he slowly placed it by his side, and swallowed his last bite with difficulty. He was done, and he had the faint shade of green upon his features to prove it.

Robotnik blinked, them gave a nod. "Is that it?"

A nod.

The scientist gave a smile. "Well then. Do you feel any better?"

He'd soon realised how ridiculous that question had sounded to the slightly sick hedgehog. But he received anther nod, nonetheless.

At this, Robotnik sat down, in order to see the Mobian from eye to eye.

"I see… Do you think you'll be able to get home from here?"

The first thing that struck the scientist was the silence that followed. There was no nod. No reply at all, for that matter. Only that the hedgehog's stoic gaze had returned, slightly fiercer than usual, focusing back onto the ground.

Finally, he stood up, now completely level to Robotnik's sitting height.

"Don't …have one." The hedgehog said, as if it were a simple fact of life.

The scientist blinked. "Family?"

"Don't know." The young creature countered almost instantly, though his eyes wandered upwards in slight thought. "Washed away a long time ago."

"… 'Washed?' You mean… your parents were swept away? By the floods?"

The hedgehog stared at the scientist for a moment, no sign of sadness in his jade eyes. Though they were still rather clouded with confusion.

"Don't know. Just happened. They left – didn't let me come with 'em. Put me up

somewhere… where water couldn't get me."

Robotnik swallowed. "I… see. You're alone."

"Yeah." The hedgehog paused. "Water can't get us… _here_, right?"

The doctor shook himself out of the sudden pity he'd felt for this creature, and cleared his throat. "Uh… A-hem. No, no. Not to worry. We're on a small plateau. The floods can't get us here." He reassured, with a weak smile.

The young Mobian blinked. "S'not what I said… _water _can't… get us here, can it?"

Robotnik gave a small chuckle, shaking his head. "Oh – Aha! 'Water' and 'floods' are the same thing, young man." He tried to explain. "Now, 'flooding' is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land, a del – "

"Who're you?"

" – Eh?" The scientist paused, his definition interrupted.

"Just wanted to ask you…" The hedgehog's shoulders slumped slightly, his jade green eyes wide with curiosity. "What's… your name?"

The man gave a small sigh. He wasn't too certain about revealing his identity to a Mobian, and a young and impressionable one at that. Though it had been confirmed that the child had no home, nor any family, if word spread of his name and whereabouts, he wasn't quite sure how the Mobians would react.

And he wasn't about to take that risk. But at the same time, he couldn't remain a stranger to this hedgehog – this child needed some hospitality, regardless.

Sighing, he made a decision.

"I am Dr Ivo Robotnik." He stated. "But there's something I want you to do in return for knowing my name."

The Mobian blinked. "Huh…?"

"I do not want anybody else to know my name, or that I'm here in the first place. Understand?"

The hedgehog's expression scrunched in thought for a moment or so, before his gaze resumed on the doctor, and he gave a small nod.

"…Okay… but…"

He gave a sheepish smile.

"… I'll just call you… 'Doc.' Your name's hard to say…"

Robotnik's large moustache twitched, slightly. Personally, he didn't approve of the nickname. Regardless, as impressive as his name sounded, he knew an eight-year-old wouldn't have the patience to pronounce it.

"Very well, very well…" He gave a resigned nod, before glancing back over at the creature. "But now – what's _your_ name?"

The hedgehog's expression resumed its stoic ferocity. "Don't have one."

Robotnik's shoulders slumped. He could personally say that this young creature was a sad case, on his part. No home, no parents, no food, no _name_ -

"Well…" The doctor stared hard at the Mobian, who glanced back, the hardened expression dissolving. "I can't keep calling you 'Hedgehog' now, can I?"

"…Uh-uh." Came the reply, along with a small headshake. "Only… the _angry _people

call me that… Y'know, when they're… mad at me."

"All the more reason to give you a name." Robotnik stated, deciding not to dwell off the hedgehog's unfortunate situation any longer. It was time things started looking up for this creature, regardless of his origin. "Is there anything that comes to mind? What do you want to be called?"

The Mobian blinked, hard. Then… for the first time, an actual smile managed to appear on his youthful features. Its absence up until now seemingly struck Robotnik, and he sighed in relief. Up until now, nothing had made the hedgehog smile…

"I… I don't know." He admitted, sheepishly. "Don't know… how to get a name…"

The scientist nodded, deep in thought. "Alright, alright… Let me think…"

He couldn't exactly pick a name out of the book – for one, he hardly knew this hedgehog. The child definitely deserved a unique name – because that was ultimately what came to mind about this Mobian. This one was… well, _strange. Different. _

But somehow, in a good way.

"… Is there… is there anything you're good at?" Robotnik wound up asking. If he had more of a base for names, other than the fact that the subject was a hedgehog, and termed 'unique,' perhaps this would be a little easier. "Anything you enjoy doing?"

The creature's gaze grew astray, as if in deep thought. Then, something struck him, and he turned back to the scientist, eyes sharp in realisation.

"I can _run._"

It wasn't the way the hedgehog looked, when he'd said those words. It was more the expression he had, that struck Robotnik.

"You can run?"

"I can run _real _fast." The Mobian said, his tone growing firm. "The people say I can… can run like the wind. Like… _super _fast!"

The idea seemed ridiculous to the scientist. Hedgehogs didn't run. At least, not where _he _came from. But the creature's expression was set in stone – so _serious _– when he'd said it. The words, the idea, the tone of voice – they all sounded childish.

Yet Robotnik… couldn't exactly bring himself to say that.

"_How _fast?" He reluctantly encouraged the young hedgehog to continue.

"_Super _fast. Like… like one time, I beat one a' the squirrels in a race – they're supposed to be real fast, but I beat him good – a-and I managed to escape from one of the Bear family when they were real mad – they get _super _fast when they're mad – so… so back the I musta' been _super duper _fast! One of the rabbits – like, like the _old _ones – he said I was like… like a _sonic boom!"_

The hedgehog made his emphasis by spreading his hands to either side, though his breathing had become rather shallow at the gesture. He'd rambled on entirely in one breath, the scientist had noted, his eyes glimmering brightly in excitement. He'd never seen such _life, _such _enthusiasm_ erupt from the young Mobian, before…

The excitement suddenly seemed to dissolve, and both the hedgehog's arms dropped to either side, his expression melting into one of confusion, once more.

"Hey, Doc…? What's a 'sonic boom?' "

Robotnik gave a small chuckle. He wouldn't bother himself to explain scientifically, anymore – this child was beyond that.

"It's a term for… for going _really _fast. It's a loud sound that happens at… _twice_ the speed of sound."

The hedgehog blinked. "So… _really really __**super**_fast?"

"Yes." Came the reply, slightly distorted as the scientist grew deep in thought, a rather large smile appearing upon his features.

That was it.

That was perfect.

"…_Sonic."_

The hedgehog blinked. "Huh?"

Robotnik nodded in internal agreement. "Yes. That will do. 'Sonic.'"

The Mobian blinked, and for a brief moment, the scientist could have sworn that the creature's brown fur was standing on end, his quills shivering, ever so slightly, in suppressed excitement. His jade eyes were gleaming, once more, as if their owner was in the midst of rambling about the very concept of running, once more.

"Son… ic?"

"Yes." Robotnik said, nodding. "That will be your name. Probably a little strange, but…" The scientist shook his head. "I believe that's all I can come up with, for now. Is that all right?"

He was once more met with silence, as the hedgehog seemed to ponder over the matter. Yet – he seemed internally happy – no, _euphoric_. It was revealed in his eyes, and the way his small body seemed to tremble in excitement.

"… Thanks… Doc…" He said, in a small voice, barely audible. "Thanks… a lot."

The scientist gave a nod. "No need to thank me, Sonic." He untangled his crossed legs and finally stood up, shaking his head. "You'll have to excuse me, I'm afraid – I left an experiment unsupervised… " He admitted, sheepishly, as he walked back through a few broken machines that surrounded them, mumbling to himself about restarting the entire experiment due to lack of observation, safety regard, et cetera, et cetera…

888

The hedgehog did not watch the scientist leave. He did not look at anything, for that matter. He didn't feel lonely when his only company had parted – nor did his stomach feel sick, anymore.

Slowly, he heaved in a shaking breath. It was there, on the tip of his tongue. He knew it was there. It was his, now. It belonged to him.

And he just… wanted to say it properly.

Another small smile appeared on his features, as he let the breath out…

… his new name following, soon after.

"_Sonic_."

888

Any feedback here would be appreciated. 

NettikGirl


	2. Energy

Disclaimer : Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA.

888

Even though the citizens of Green Hill took precautions, moved higher and higher above ground, and even went as far as to strictly forbid anybody from leaving their small, drenched houses – the flood's water levels continued to rise, without any hesitation. And after weeks and weeks of continuous flooding, it soon became rather apparent to the folk of the Green Hill Zone, that they did not have long at all before their very escape would finally be swept away.

But that didn't happen.

Perhaps somebody who was in control of the situation had taken pity, and decided to let the poor folk off. Perhaps the skies over Green Hill had run out of water. Or perhaps, the dreamed-of hero that many civilians had fantasized about, had finally arrived, performed his heroic deeds, before vanishing once more into the unknown.

Whatever the cause, it came to be that the Green Hill Zone was receiving less and less rain, over the days that followed the flood's highest peak. The weekly floods were still feared, however, and not one Mobian budged from their position up on the higher grounds of Green Hill.

Yet in the end, the grey, overcast skies began to clear up. Nearly one year had passed since the blue skies had been lost to the Zone, and as patches of sunlight slowly began to seep back into the area, many of the Mobians slowly, but surely, began to leave the safety of their houses.

Rain occasionally returned, but never in the same ferocity as it had done so, in its past year. Though the idea of rain alone was enough to keep some citizens of Green Hill back home, others continued to move back down to lower ground. They recovered the debris of old houses that had been swept away. They found a few of those unfortunate enough to have been swept away, and fewer of those who had still lived under these circumstances.

Though that didn't stop them.

Green Hill, despite massive damage, was slowly beginning to rise back on its feet, once more… little by little…

But a certain little Mobian, situated inside a certain laboratory, was already miles ahead.

888

"_It's STOPPED! It's STOPPED, Doc!"_

Robotnik flinched, pliers in one hand and several delicate wires being finely pinched by the other. With the fragile machinery, and the highly reactive (but otherwise safe) elements he'd incorporated into his newest invention, he knew that it was necessary to keep his focus, no matter what.

However, the loud voice was enough to break his concentration, and the small contraption he'd been hunched over and finely tuning, promptly exploded in his face.

It wasn't a large explosion – not large enough to burn the good doctor's moustache. Yet as the grey smoke cleared, he realised that his newest invention would need more fine-tuning than he'd first intended. Plus, the wires and circuitry were fried – he would need to replace them… and the metal had been scorched, too…

A rather frustrated sigh emerged from Robotnik, and he swivelled his chair around from his steel, working table, to face the culprit.

And that culprit - the owner of the loud voice - was currently standing a metre or so back from the doctor. And, judging by the rather wide-eyed and sheepish expression upon his features, he was… well, more than aware of his current error.

"… Uh… I'm…"

The hedgehog's shoulders slumped, though his wide-eyed gaze remained fixed on the scientist, with an added sheepish smile.

"I'm… uh… Sorry, Doc." He mumbled, quietly, his gaze finally astray.

Robotnik opened his mouth, decided against scolding, and closed it, again. Sonic had only recently been well enough to walk around the laboratory without encountering dizzy spells as he did so. Though it was all too evident that the hedgehog had mountains of energy brimming inside him, he'd had to endure the unbearable task of sitting down for hours and hours on end.

The constant yelling, wandering around without falling over, and constant jogging every so often on the spot, could only mean that the Mobian had almost fully recovered.

"_What's _stopped, Sonic?" Robotnik asked, a smile reappearing on his features. At this gesture, the hedgehog's sheepish expression melted into relief, and he faced the doctor again, his jade eyes gleaming with energy.

"The rain's stopped." He said, his voice shaking in excitement. "All the flooding's stopped, too…"

The scientist blinked, then rose from his chair, glancing out one of the circular windows that neighboured his workspace. Sure enough, patches of sunlight were streaming though the glass, further illuminating the dimly lit laboratory. What remained of raindrops was slowly fading away, trickling down the glass, their trails drying up soon after.

Robotnik gave a smile.

"It's nearly been six months since you've been outside, am I right, Sonic?"

An eager nod was seen out of the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but chuckle. Regardless of the rather large size of his dome, which housed all of his machinery, supplies and inventions, the scientist had noted two things that had posed a problem for the young hedgehog.

One: he bored easily. Very easily.

And two: in recent days, his claim of being able to run like a 'sonic boom,' as ridiculous as it sounded, was slowly, but surely, beginning to come true.

888

It had happened when Sonic had managed to recover from the dizziness. (which, he identified as fatigue, heavy malnutrition and a mild case of hypothermia, all combined.) The hedgehog had begun to pace back and forth through the lab, steadily building up speed as he did so. And the agreeable sound of 'tmp, tmp, tmp' echoed through the lab and reached Robotnik's ears. That pace seemed fast enough. A hedgehog couldn't reach the speed of sound. Not could he reach halfway, for that matter…

"Tmp, tmp, tmp…"

"Tmp tmp tmp…"

"Tmp – tmp – tmp"

"Tmp-tmp-tmp-tmp-"

"Tmptmptmptmptmp –"

When the scientist glanced up from his working table to identify the source of the sound, he realised that Sonic was racing back and forth, back and forth – clearing the total length of the dome in almost 20 seconds at a time. And considering the dome was fifty feet at _least, _in diameter…

Robotnik had worked out a few mathematics and formulae in his head. A small, possibly formerly malnourished hedgehog, running nearly 4 metres per second -

That couldn't be right. Had there been a miscalculation?

He shook his head, swallowed hard, then glanced back up at Sonic, who was still racing back and forth, through the dome, and even going as far as to perform laps around the inside of the entire dome – a perimeter of 129 metres…

The hedgehog – this little hedgehog… could run nearly… dare he say it?

_216_ kilometres per hour.

The conclusion sunk in, and his mouth went dry. No. There was no way. It couldn't be possible. Sonic… was living up to his name. He could _run. _He could run _fast. _

Not fast enough to create a sonic boom. Nor break the sound barrier. But the hedgehog had been running on steel, slippery grey floors, without the use of any shoes.

This factor soon came into play, as Sonic's speed suddenly began to grow unsteady. Whether it was the slippery floor, lack of shoes, or momentary fatigue, the doctor did not know. But the hedgehog had tripped over one of his feet and landed backwards, _hard_, upon the steel floor with a loud _BONG-G-g-g_, which had echoed all around the dome.

Regardless of the possibility of the Mobian having a concussion, it took a few moments for Robotnik to snap out of his daze.

For all he knew, Sonic the hedgehog could potentially –_…_

…_perhaps-_

…_maybe-_

- break the sound barrier.

Dr Robotnik was interested – _very _interested – in that possibility.

888

"I think it'd be best for you to get some fresh air." The scientist said, nodding. "You've been cooped up in here for too long, and being stuck in here the rest of your life won't do i _you /i _ any good, _BUT- "_ Robotnik raised his tone at the Mobian, who had a foot raised in preparation for dashing to the doorway. Grumpily, Sonic returned his leg to his side and looked up attentively at the scientist.

"_But…_" The doctor said, his tone softer this time, "… I think you'll be better off if you actually had some shoes. You had a few blisters when you first came in…" His voice trailed off into another smirk, as Sonic's eyes lit up, once more.

"So… I'm quite sure _these _will come in handy, for now." Robotnik fished out a pair of pale blue shoes from his lab coat pocket – a little worse for wear, due to exposure to several violent experiments in the past few days. They had yellow buckles on the outside, and even the inside was already lined with a sock – like material.

The hedgehog sat down, taking the shoes and studying them for a few good moments. He did not move an inch. Just stared, his jade eyes wide in fascination and excitement.

"They're a prototype for a new kind of shoe I'm working on, Sonic." Robotnik explained, with a nod. "These shoes have a greater grip on the ground – so you can go even faster. And when your foot _leaves _the ground, the friction vanishes almost instantly – you will _not_ stick to the ground. These _will _wear out after a while, I'm afraid… but hopefully by then, I'll have finished the final version…" The scientist debated the possibility through the back of his mind.

It had taken nearly a month to work out how these friction-less shoes could work without slipping their owner up. He knew it would take even longer for him to develop a more durable material – especially at that speed.

And especially with his _main_ project overshadowing everything…

"…_Thanks, _Doc."

Robotnik glanced down at the hedgehog, who was staring up at the scientist in touched amazement. Despite the foreboding thoughts that had clouded his head moments before, the scientist couldn't help but smile back.

"Not a problem, Sonic." He reassured as the hedgehog slipped on both shoes in impatient anticipation. Pulling back his legs and throwing himself back up on his feet in one (awkward) motion, he pulled back his new gloves, (which had been gifted to him a few weeks earlier) before his gaze rested on the steel door.

Robotnik gave a nod, understanding of the impatience that the Mobian was becoming known for. He walked over to the mechanised doorway, tapped a few keys upon the neighbouring keypad, and the steel door responded. Despite its hulking appearance, the whole thing pushed back, before sliding upwards into the roof of the dome.

To be honest, Robotnik himself was tempted to take a step outdoors.

Green Hill Zone was steadily brightening as midday approached. Raindrops sparkled amongst the cool green grass that stretched on for ages, over hills, before reaching the small villages almost miles away. From their position on the plateau, the two of them overlooked the surrounding forest and stared into the clear beyond.

The scientist turned to speak to Sonic, only to find that the young Mobian had found the scenery far too inviting to stay put. His brown fur standing on end, the hedgehog threw himself forth, over the edge of the plateau…

888

The surrounding winds rustled through Sonic's fur as he descended, a fresh burst of adrenalin spreading outwards from his chest and throughout his whole body.

His jade green eyes looked upwards, towards the blue sky, towards the sun – and then focused back down onto the approaching forest.

Sonic drew in a breath.

_Run._

A smile appeared on his young features.

_Run!_

The treetops passed him by, revealing the dirt ground they concealed.

_As __**fast**__ as you can!_

The hedgehog landed hard on his feet, though did not wait for the shock to impact him. Upon landing, he'd quickly ducked forward, performing a few rolling somersaults upon the ground, before managing to rise back on his feet and breaking into a run – all in one swift motion.

Sonic felt a little dizzy, but his senses sharpened to the world around him as he pelted through the forest. He wanted to get out of here. The trees were scattered all over the place, and he couldn't run at his full pace without crashing into one of them.

Besides, that field that he'd seen from the Doc's base had looked mighty inviting.

The sun's rays flickered above him, as the hedgehog dashed through the forest, jumping to one side, minding several bushes and leaping over a fallen log or two. But since the flooding had continuously struck the area, over and over, the undergrowth hadn't had much of a chance to block the pathways.

Needless to say, Sonic had hardly anything to trip over.

And as the trees grew sparser, and the green fields came in view, the temptation grew far, far too great.

Bowing his head forth in his run, he began to break into a full, uncontrollable sprint. His arms swung quickly back and forth, trying to keep up with his legs. And in a way, they did. But at the same time, the hedgehog felt _slowed…_

So as the forces of the wind pummelled him from in front, his arms were forced back, straight behind him. His head bowed down further, his eyes firmly fixed straight ahead. He could not see it himself, but his legs were ever so slowly becoming a blur.

Distinguishable, but hardly.

And Sonic the hedgehog was hardly ten metres from the forest's exit. Yet his mind was not quite out there – it had just dawned on him that he'd never run so fast in his life. The realisation sent another untamed surge of energy down his spine, and excitement fizzed up in his brain.

Needless to say, in this moment, a few things led to his crash.

For one, he'd lost focus on the speed of his legs.

Secondly, his euphoria had caused a loss of coordination.

And thirdly…

Something…

_Two _things…

… had crashed into him first.

"…atch where _you're goING –__**AAAH**__!"_

A flash of yellow first swept past his vision, before something red collided into him, and his spell, under the thrill of running, was broken. Sonic was suddenly thrown clear off his feet, through the air, and headfirst against a tree.

His vision blurred and his mind rather disoriented, he registered another two flashes of red and yellow appearing in his vision, before being pummelled in the stomach by something _hard, _and just for a change, something soft landing hard upon his head.

Soft, but _heavy_… the hedgehog's head drooped forth under the weight.

"…_dead… we're so dead, we're dead, deadeadeadwe'regonna DIIEEE…"_

Sonic blinked through his blurred eyesight, in confusion. He'd never heard that voice before… and it sounded rather distant. The tree had been tougher on his head than he'd first thought.

Suddenly annoyed at his swimming vision, he shook his head sharply, causing the thing on his head… well, whatever it was – to fall forth with a loud cry.

"_We're not gonna die, Ray. See? Look… he's waking up."_

The weight that had hit his stomach had left – and now Sonic realised he could hardly breathe. He heaved in a breath, though hardly managed to fill his lungs. Confused, and slightly panicked, he breathed in again, and only a slight bit more air managed to pass through.

"Ah… No, no, no… I'm really sorry – I got you good… Uh… Just - keep breathing, okay? Uh… Ah, man…"

Sonic took the new voice's advice, also noting that his hearing was starting to recover. And as calm and collected as the second voice had sounded earlier, it seemed as if he, too, was slightly panicked.

Not nearly as such as the first voice, who spoke again, rather loudly.

"Nice goin', Mighty. You _windund _him… What if our folks find out?!"

Sonic's expression scrunched in confusion, and his gaze finally managed to clear. It rose to meet the one of the culprits of his crash, who stood over his form, still sprawled back against the tree.

"W… Wind… und?" He asked, his voice a little raspy. Though he was quite relieved that his breathing was growing regular, once more.

And the concerned Mobian who had crashed into him seemed rather relieved as well.

"It's _'winded.'_" He corrected, shaking his head with a small smile. He was an armadillo, his protective back shell a dark red (The 'red flash,' he'd realised). His belly and facial fur was tan, much like Sonic's own, though the rest of his visible fur was black. As the Mobian knelt down to face the hedgehog, Sonic could see that his eyes were a clear turquoise – and still rather concerned.

"Are you okay?"

The hedgehog gave a nod, and the armadillo stood and backed up enough so that he could stand. As he did so, he learned that the 'yellow flash' also had a Mobian form, standing a few metres away.

It was a bright yellow squirrel – a flying squirrel, Sonic had realised, upon seeing a flap of yellow-furred skin below the cautious Mobian's raised arms. Like the hedgehog and the armadillo, his face and stomach fur were tan, but considerably darker than that of the other two. His wide eyes were fixed on him, and a deep amber brown.

He was a little small, compared to the armadillo, and certainly a deal jumpy. Though right now, he mostly looked as if he was recovering from a panic attack.

"You gotta be more careful." He said, shakily (and even a little crankily). "Ya almost ran us over, y'know?! And Mom doesn't like it when we run inta' people – we get in _loadsa_ trouble! If we get in trouble it's _your _faul – "

"Ray, _quiet."_ The armadillo interrupted, when Sonic's expression grew somewhat confused and a little frustrated. "Listen… uhm… We're really sorry. I mean, you should be more careful, but we were kinda running too, so…" He shrugged, with a small chuckle. "Guess we both messed up, a little, huh?"

There was a small silence. The hedgehog's gaze passed into its stoic mode, focusing on the squirrel (whom he'd now assumed was called "Ray.") and he drew in a breath.

"It's okay." He said, relaxing. Truth be told, he _was _ticked off at the fact that his fastest run _ever _had been interrupted. Regardless, it felt wrong to be mad, right now…

This guy was cool.

"I'm Mighty." The older Mobian introduced himself with a small bow. "Mighty the Armadillo."

The hedgehog gave a smile. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog." He said, jerking a thumb at his chest. "You can call me Sonic, if you want."

Mighty glanced back over his shoulder, to spot his younger companion, sulking a little, head down and appearing slightly upset.

"Ray…" He sighed. Sonic stared after, the earlier frustration that he'd felt starting to fade away. It had been upsetting, being stopped in mid-run and getting hit by both him and Mighty, but it was over now. There was no point in _still_ being upset.

The hedgehog blinked in confusion, and walked up to the flying squirrel, who quickly glanced up at his approach, his stare still slightly hostile.

"You won't get in trouble if I'm not hurt anymore, right?" Sonic asked. It was serious question – and Mighty, a year or so his elder, couldn't help but smile.

The hostility faded out of the younger Mobian's eyes, confusion following. He quickly shook his head, earning a relieved grin from the hedgehog.

"… _Sorry _for… for… y'know, crashing inta' you'n all…" The flying squirrel mumbled, his gaze astray.

"Sorry for running into you." Sonic said, his gaze astray, as well.

One thing that had sometimes bothered him (as much as he hated to admit,) was admitting that he, too, was in the wrong.

"…I'm Ray… the Flying Squirrel." The hedgehog's glance returned back to the young Mobian, who was staring up at him, all negativity gone. Truth be told, he seemed a deal more upbeat and calm whenever he wasn't panicking – almost like Mighty's composure.

"Man… that was a tumble…" The armadillo glanced at the patch of disturbed dirt that marked their collision point. Sonic realised that the two had hit him side-on from the trees, and as he was thrown into the tree first, the other two had followed soon after under the force.

"Still, we only _just _got you." Ray added, his eyes wide in mild shock. "Sonic, you were runnin' _real _fast! I only just saw ya."

Mighty glanced over at his younger companion in confusion. "I didn't see _anything…"_ He stated, crossing his arms. "You sure it wasn't just you?"

Ray quickly shook his head, a stubborn look dwelling on his features. With a resigned smile, the armadillo looked over at the hedgehog, who looked only vaguely insulted.

"Did yousee it?" He asked, now genuinely curious.

Sonic's jade eyes became rather fierce.

"That was _me_."

Mighty uncrossed his arms, his laid-back expression now cautious. He didn't really understand how, or why, but he knew the hedgehog was definitely serious. And for some reason, it seemed wrong for him to ridicule Sonic. At least, with _those _eyes.

The armadillo gave a sigh, then smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"Okay… okay. That wasn't fair of me. Sorry."

And suddenly, his turquoise gaze gave a sharp gleam, directed at the hedgehog, causing Sonic to abandon his fierce look entirely.

"_Show _us."

The hedgehog blinked. Hard.

Mighty was dead serious. Suddenly, the laid-back armadillo seemed like a distant memory. His relaxed outlook had morphed into stone. Even his voice had grown firm, and unwavering. But, much like Sonic had attempted to stare him down, _he _was doing so even more harshly.

Ray was staring over at his older companion in what seemed like a mix of shock and admiration. But as he glanced back to Sonic, he realised that the demand the armadillo had made had impacted the hedgehog far more than just inflicting fear.

Sonic was _shaking_. Not out of intimidation, but out of _excitement_. Adrenalin shot through his veins. His fur stood on end, his quills raising, ever so slightly. His jade eyes were alive with energy, and a small smirk had appeared on his features.

"… _I'll race you_." He said, only just keeping his voice under control.

"Fine with me." Mighty smiled back, his gaze still cool and collected. "Where to?"

"End… of the field." Sonic whispered, shakily.

Ray glanced back and forth, between the two older Mobians, his own excitement growing immensely. He'd seen how fast the hedgehog was. At least, he'd _thought _he'd seen it. But Mighty was pretty fast, too… both of them had been speeding through the forest before they'd run directly into Sonic…

And they got in trouble for running into people _all_ the time. This hedgehog had just appeared out of nowhere, and crashed into _them_ – so in Ray's eyes, if he really _did _run so fast, and all the time, how come they'd never heard of him, before? Why weren't people complaining of Sonic the Hedgehog crashing into them all the time?

He shrugged to himself. Whatever. If Sonic was really _new_ around here (No-one had been talking about a guy named 'Sonic' beating everyone at racing) then he'd have a hard time beating Mighty…

The flying squirrel's bets swung back and forth, from Sonic to Mighty…

Then his ears perked up. The hedgehog and the armadillo were still staring at each other. And, making a closer observation, Ray could see that the two of them were making occasional glances over to the open field that neighboured them. They were just on the edge of the forest. The seemingly endless field seemed to taunt them, especially Sonic, who seemed to be having a difficult time standing completely still.

The squirrel sighed.

The only way he'd _know_… would be to see these two race each other.

A new grin appearing upon his features, Ray leapt over the duo, gracefully descending on the other side, his back to the field.

Abruptly, he raised a hand.

"Ready…"

Mighty drew in a sharp breath.

"Get set…"

Sonic took in a deep breath.

"… Ready… Steady…"

Ray dropped his hand abruptly.

"_GO!!"_

The flying squirrel didn't have time to register exactly what happened next. For one, the two clouds of dirt that had appeared on either side had obstructed his vision, causing him to cough slightly, in their wake.

And secondly, from what he could see –

Or _thought _he could see -

Sonic and Mighty had _vanished._

888

Sorry to leave you all like that. Mighty's about to get a rude awakening. ; )

NettikGirl


	3. Numbing Senses

Disclaimer : I don't own Sonic, Mighty, Ray or Robotnik. Kinda wish I did.

888

It wasn't easy for Green Hill Zone to rebuild. Nor was it so simple for the damage and suffering _caused_ by the flooding to be mended. For many of those brave enough to venture outside their homes, let their children run around free, and venture down to the formerly flooded area to retrieve anything of theirs swept away, there was still sadness. There was still frustration.

So it was ironic that on the very same day that the rains ceased, an exciting discovery almost completely broke the solemn mood of the Zone.

A child, having been curious enough to access the lower areas of Green Hill, had rushed back home, holding something very peculiar in her grasp. It was not an item that had been swept away, nor was it a reminder of a lost one.

It was a ring. A very strange, oversized ring, glimmering a brightly coloured gold. It was unlike anything anybody had ever seen before…

Many Mobians were attracted to the find. They wondered if the floods had brought them along, from a far-off place and covered their lands with these mysterious and beautiful objects.

The majority of Green Hill Zone had claimed that restoring their destroyed community was top priority, and stuck to their duties of commencing rebuilding houses. Many other Mobians (especially children) however, were interested in collecting more of these rings. Adults were interested in the possible profit they could make, if they were sold at another distant Zone, far from the flooding disaster.

This plan soon crashed – and disappointment ensued.

For the civilians of Green Hill Zone made yet another discovery. Constant contact with the rings would cause them to vanish, completely. And even when one went so far as to walk or run into them at any kind of velocity, the rings would _also_ vanish, without a trace. Nobody could really explain this, as of yet.

Some claimed that the rings were merely mirages, caused by some chemical substance from some distant zone washed into the area by the floods. Others claimed that some supreme being was mocking them, taunting them with riches before taking them away. But though the adults of the Zone were disappointed by this fact, the children were undeterred.

Each child of Green Hill Zone were exploring, hunting and trying to gather as many rings as they could, before they disappeared. It didn't matter to them what they were worth – just as long as they were there. Present, wondrous and beautiful.

Each child of Green Hill Zone…

… but three.

Two who were in the middle of an intense race.

And one who was trying to spectate them…

… if he could catch up.

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Mighty the Armadillo focused straight ahead. His legs were dashing as fast as they possibly could, and after days of running around in circles inside his home out of boredom, he wasn't about to get puffed out so easily. He felt everything around him – the grass tickling his feet through his sandals, the wind pelting through his short fur, the warm sun finally descending on the area of Green Hill…

… and the presence of one rather annoyed hedgehog at his heels.

The armadillo grinned to himself, as he continued to run. If there was one thing he was good at, it was working out how a race worked. After a few years of experience, he's come to note that many of his younger racing opponents often made the error of either starting off with a quick burst of energy, then slowing down. Or, they had a slow start, and attempted to make up for it by sprinting, near the race's finish. But Mighty had learned from these mistakes, and through these strategies, he'd created his own – he usually had a quick start, then kept up a relatively fast pace throughout the entire race.

From what he could see, Sonic hadn't quite got the hang of the 'quick start' portion of racing, yet. The hedgehog was still running, however, seething with what appeared to be frustration at being second place.

"_Thought you said he was a blur, Ray!"_ Mighty yelled over his shoulder, at the youngest of the three. The flying squirrel was currently tailing the duo, hovering over them in a glide. The wind was in Ray's favor – he could keep the two of them in view, and remain airborne for a lengthened amount of time.

"_Didn't say that!" _came the reply, nearly fully obstructed by the surrounding winds. "_I said, he can run REAL fast!"_

Mighty chuckled, turning his focus ahead, once more. "Sure…" He mumbled quietly. His thoughts turned to the length of the field, and how far they were in the race.

They had started a few minutes or so ago – but the end of the field was nowhere in sight. Regardless of the fact that their racing grounds still seemed endless, Mighty was undeterred – the many hundreds of metres that stretched before him were nothing. He could keep going - he knew he could. And despite both Ray and Sonic's claims, he still wasn't convinced that the hedgehog could truly run faster than the eye could see.

His mind back on the race, Mighty continued to dash forth, quickening his pace, slightly. It was a bit of a risky move, considering that there was a chance he could run out of steam at the finish line. But all the same, the armadillo was confident. The person behind him served no challenge at all.

However, he was immune to the fact that Sonic had caught onto the self-muttered remark of _"Sure…"_

The hedgehog wasn't hurt. Nor did he let his frustration cloud his mind. Instead, it was at this time when he began to build up his momentum, as he'd practised. He'd always been slow to start, he knew.

But as the rhythmic 'tmp tmp tmp' of his feet began to speed up, little by little, he knew all too well that this little factor didn't matter anymore.

Mighty was the first to sense the hedgehog's change of pace. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, he came to realise that Sonic's running style was slowly changing. His arms were swinging back and forth to keep up with the balance and momentum of his feet, but it soon came to be that those two appendages were unable to keep up.

The armadillo's eyes grew wide, as he realised that the hedgehog was approaching him, nearing him… _passing _him, his pace increasing drastically.

Mighty scowled, and began to place in his effort. His run increased into a sprint. He knew that his chances of winning the race had been halved, already. But then again, so had the hedgehog's. There was no way someone could run so fast and _not _collapse inches from the finish line. Both he and Sonic were bound to slow up, regardless of who was ahead and who was behind.

The two were head to head, now. Mighty's breathing was shortening, slightly, and an ache was starting to form in his side. But he pressed on, making occasional glances to his opponent.

Something suddenly caught the armadillo's eye. At first, he mistook it for a rock, or a brown patch of grass, but then he came to realise that it was neither. A black, fuzzy dot had suddenly appeared in the corner of his eye, and it wasn't travelling on the terrain that passed him by.

A couple more black dots crept into his vision, as well as a slight feeling of dizziness. Confusion of the occurrence was suddenly overtaken by realisation, and Mighty abruptly shook his head, planting his full focus forward.

He knew they were signs of fatigue. It had happened to him twice, before, but he wasn't about to stop now. He couldn't, regardless of his inability to breathe properly.

Sonic was focusing directly ahead, paying absolutely no heed to the Mobian beside him. His teeth were gritted slightly, as he raced on – it was becoming more and more obvious that his arms were becoming a nuisance, unable to match the speed of his legs.

Mighty couldn't help but give a small, triumphant grin. Sonic was running way too fast to keep balance! If his arms could no longer support his speed, he'd soon trip over, and fall flat on his face. If he kept this up, the armadillo would be the victor…

"_Hey, Mighty!"_

The Mobian snapped out of his thoughts, realising that the hedgehog was now speaking directly over to him. He was slightly taken aback at Sonic's voice – his opponent didn't sound the slightest bit puffed out or tired at all. It was a wonder he could still speak, whilst running at this velocity – whilst Mighty was struggling to breathe properly, to keep on going. He couldn't even reply to the hedgehog's remark.

But Sonic just seemed pleased that he had his attention.

"_I'd like to apologise!" _His opponent yelled. _"Kinda!"_

Mighty blinked, hard. He managed to summon up enough breath to reply, though it paid him to do so – he was a couple of paces behind Sonic, now.

"_What… For… ?!"_

The hedgehog gave a small wink, before his gaze resumed back forward.

"_For holding back on you!"_

And with that remark, Sonic the hedgehog's head bowed forth, towards his goal. His arms finally flew back, caught in the wind's velocity to either side – and he began to sprint.

Mighty's breath grew caught in his throat – as his opponent shot several _metres_ ahead of him, in the few seconds that followed. Faster – faster – as fast as the eye could see. He hadn't needed to build up momentum – he hadn't needed to stop and take a breath. He hadn't needed a drink of water, a rest, or any kind of recharge.

Mighty's limbs began to numb, ever so slightly, as he began to lose coordination with his body. Yet he still stared on forward, as he watched his opponent vanish into the distance –only to soon come quickly back into view, as the Mobian caught sight of the steadily approaching cliff face and barren ground that marked the edge of the field – the finish line.

The armadillo's vision suddenly clouded over, and dizziness overcame him as his body finally succumbed to fatigue. He tripped forward, landing on the damp grass in a skidding sprawl.

It was _impossible_.

Awesome. Admirable, even. But _impossible_.

Sonic the Hedgehog hadn't needed _anything_ to surpass him.

Ray's panicked voice cried out at him, though it sounded rather distant. His vision blurred, then grew dark. And heaving in a dry gasp of cherished oxygen, Mighty's turquoise eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

Sonic's triumphant grin was replaced with a look of confusion as he heard Ray the flying squirrel cry out from several metres behind. Despite his feelings of adrenalin and excitement, he forced himself to skid to a halt, sliding a mere metre forward, before glancing back over his shoulder.

His eyes grew wide at the sight of the collapsed armadillo.

And for the first time in what seemed like ages, fear crept onto his features.

"…_Mighty_…?"

888

Midday was approaching. Much as the past day's weather had influenced those in the Zone, today's weather had given an even bigger impact. The sun was warming the area to its highest temperatures, since the civilians of Green Hill could even remember. The remnants of water within the grassy fields and forestation were now long gone, as the ground warmed beneath them.

So, the trio of young Mobians had soon found themselves in the shade, sitting up against the cliff face. They were shielded from the scorching rays of the sun, thanks to the landform.

However, it could do nothing to shield Mighty from a certain flying squirrel's outburst.

"You _know_ what your folks said!" Ray yelled, pointing firmly at his older companion. "If ya start seein' _spots, _you just gotta _stop!"_

The armadillo gave a small glare, his turquoise eyes slightly glazed over from the impending heat. Yet he remained relaxed, his form sprawled back up against the cliff wall. He still felt slightly sick, but his breathing was returning to its usual rhythmic pattern. That was a good sign…

"…I know." Mighty replied, his voice slightly raspy. "I messed up…" He managed a small smile up to Ray, whose stubborn expression still held.

"But I'm not an idiot. It's not gonna happen again… anytime soon." He added, his smile growing sheepish. He glanced over to Sonic, who sat next to him, but not in the carefree manner that the armadillo portrayed. His knees were drawn up to his chest, and he hugged them, his head resting atop his kneecaps, his gaze astray.

_Silent_.

The armadillo frowned, slightly.

"You mean it's not gonna happen to ya, _ever again!"_ Ray corrected, amber brown eyes narrowed in frustration. "We can't have ya hypo – hypovint - " His eyes soon screwed upwards, in confusion, the word rolling around in his mouth. "– Hypovuntla – Hy – Hypoventu - "

"Hypo – Hy_per_ventilating." Mighty corrected softly, slipping the word around in his mouth a little, himself. Sonic's absentminded gaze suddenly drew back to the armadillo, his green orbs seemingly bright with what appeared to be anxiety.

"Y-Yeah, _that_." Ray nodded, resuming his stubborn (and somewhat authorative- in a childlike way) expression. "We can't have _that _happen to ya all the time, Mighty!"

"Well, it doesn't. Usually." The armadillo countered, his attention back on the flying squirrel. He sat himself up slightly, but ceased his effort when his nausea began to return. "Like I said, I'm not gonna do it again... I'm not gonna push myself to collapse every single race."

"You _promise_?"

Mighty glanced over to his right, turquoise eyes slightly widened in surprise. It was Sonic who had spoken, his voice slightly shaken. Yet his jade gaze was now firmly fixed on the armadillo, unblinking. Sharp.

Demanding.

The older Mobian hesitated. "… Yeah. I guess." Mighty gave a small nod in response. He looked on; as his new friend seemed to relax slightly, then look away.

Ray frowned, voicing his older companion's thoughts.

"What's wrong?"

Sonic didn't look at him. "Nothing's wrong." He mumbled.

"It's always _something_ when a person says it's 'nothing.'" Mighty said, with a small smirk. "Something's bothering you."

"Yeah, yeah!" Ray nodded, walking over to the silent hedgehog, who seemed to glance away even further. "You're way too quiet… and – hey… look at me. Look at me!" The flying squirrel leaned forward, trying to grasp the Mobian's attention. However, there was still no reply from the young hedgehog, and Ray withdrew, arms crossed. "Haven't seen ya act like _this_ before, Sonic."

"Maybe it's just 'cause you don't know me so well."

"… Okay, this is getting stupid." The armadillo gave a sigh. "What's _wrong_, Sonic? If it's about me collapsing'n'all, it's no biggie. It's happened to me before, and I've been through worse – it's no problem." Mighty muttered, giving a smile. "Wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, it was."

The armadillo's smile faded, and Ray's eyes narrowed in slight confusion.

"It _was_ my fault."

There was a brief silence. Only the distant winds from the fields sounded, rippling throughout the long, green grass. The rustling blades drifted back and forth, back and forth…

"How was _that_ your fault?" Mighty asked, bringing Sonic's gaze back from the grassy fields.

"You thought you could catch up with me, just 'cause _I_ slowed up…"

"You _still_ worried 'bout that?" Ray interrupted the hedgehog, crossing his arms. "Last time I checked, Sonic didn't have any problems with provin' how _fast _he could be."

Another silence surrounded the three of them, broken when the hedgehog let out a small sigh.

"… You've… never actually seen someone collapse before, _have_ ya?" The flying squirrel withdrew slightly, his amber-brown eyes growing wide in realization.

Sonic finally glanced up at Ray, and for the first time, genuine _fear_ was present in those sharp, jade eyes of his. It contrasted the stoic, challenging stare he'd used back when the race had been issued – _that _Sonic was gone.

And _this _Sonic… just looked upset.

"Not… from _running _so hard…" The hedgehog mumbled, quietly. "I knew I was _fast_, but… I didn't think someone could… well, fall _asleep_…" (Sonic cringed. That didn't sound right. Sounded too _peaceful. _And that collapse had been anything but.) "…when they were runnin' and all."

"Well… I guess it's not much of a problem for _you._" Mighty said, finally managing to sit up straight without encountering any dizzy spells. "But a lot of people can't run so fast without getting puffed out."

He smiled when Sonic glanced back over at him, finally lowering his knees from his chest to spread out across the ground. Finally, he had his attention.

"Like… _who?_"

Mighty shrugged. "People like me, I guess. I can _run, _for a long time. But if I run too fast… I guess my body gets too tired." His expression screwed up in thought, trying to find the right words. "I mean, I guess _I _wanna run, but my body _doesn't_. Keeps hurting, getting more and more tired, and tries to stop me."

" – And then it _does." _Ray pointed out. "If someone's running too fast, and their body can't take it, then it _makes _them stop. By makin' 'em fall asleep, I guess."

Sonic blinked, his features scrunching slightly in confusion.

"I… never thought that could happen to anybody. S'never happened to me."

"Well, I think you're an ekseppshio – "

" – Exception."

" – what _he_ said." Ray said, with a firm nod. "I mean, during that race, you were just playing around with Mighty, huh?"

Sonic tensed. "Well… _yeah_, but…"

"And he couldn't keep up with you at all. Mighty was real tired, but you handled it real easily!"

The hedgehog blinked, hard. "But I…"

"Sonic." His uncertain gaze was drawn over to the armadillo, who was now making an attempt to stand up, pushing himself up against the cliff wall for support. Ray, noting that he was having a small amount of difficulty, hurried over to his side.

"You apologised for holding back on me, didn't you?"

Mighty's smile was genuine. Sonic stared at him, slightly taken aback.

And slowly…

Very slowly…

He smiled back. His first smile since the older Mobian's collapse.

"…Yeah. I guess."

The hedgehog shook his head.

"No… I _did._"

"_That _sounds more like you." The armadillo laughed. "Besides," he added, standing up fully, and shaking his head to quickly rid himself of any dizziness. " we've already spent a while sitting around here…"

Sonic exhaled, the weight that had been dropped on his chest finally lifting. Both Ray _and_ Mighty were right. He'd completely forgotten.

"There's… not much point in worrying about what's already happened, is there?" He mused to himself, his tone adorned in slight wonder. The armadillo caught his words, and his features scrunched in deep thought. He'd never really thought of it that way, before…

"'Sides, it was still a tie."

Mighty blinked, his attention drawn back onto the flying squirrel, standing right next to him.

"Huh?"

"The race. It was a tie."

Sonic glanced over at Ray, eyes wide in confusion.

A… _what?_

A _tie?!_ He… couldn't understand it!

"How…?"

A mischievous glint had appeared in the flying squirrel's amber-brown eyes, and he crossed his arms, a smug grin upon his features, evidently taking delight in knowing what two older Mobians did not.

"Neither of you crossed the finish line when the race was still going."

There was a rather dumbfounded silence. Mighty slapped a hand to his face, and Sonic's stare widened in realization.

"Oh…" He mused, his shoulders slumping, his gaze falling down to the ground.

"Yeah…" The armadillo muttered, hand sliding down his face, his gaze astray.

Ray's face still had that same smug grin. And it increased in size, as he raised a hand up to the sky.

Neither Sonic or Mighty seemed to be paying any attention to the flying squirrel, still both seemingly caught up in their mistake. Yet instead of their weary gazes being fixed on the ground, it became apparent that the two of them were resuming gazes on each other.

It took the very motion of Ray's hand falling back down to his side to signal the resume of the race. And at that motion, both Sonic and Mighty thrust out a hand each to the cliff face wall, as quickly as the two of them possibly could…

888

The late afternoon was approaching. The hot, midday sun had drifted past its pinnacle, and was now slowly sinking down towards the horizon, painting the skies a slight yellow, encouraging the evening to follow after.

The grassy fields were still green, though their colour dulled under the fading, sinking sun. Even the winds seemed to be settling, their previous strength fading away, soaring into the distance. It was as if the day itself had been exhausted, and was slowly encouraging everything it touched to slow down, and cease. The noises of Flickies chirping in the trees had faded away. The winds no longer whistled through the trees, and the sound of the distant reconstruction of the Green Hill villages could no longer be heard from the open fields.

Though these factors were silent, there were a few others that refused to do so.

Silence didn't involve screaming.

Silence didn't involve loud laughter.

And silence certainly didn't involve the sound of a young, high-pitched voice screaming out : "-slowdown-slowdown-slowd_own-you're-going-too-faST-YOU'RE-GOING-WAY-TOO-FAST-Stop-it-stop-it-_you're-gonna-kill-us-you're-gonna - " before fading to the opposite side of the field.

Sonic the Hedgehog had taken the liberty of demonstrating exactly how fast he could run to his new friends. Though neither Mighty nor Ray could come close to his speed, no matter how hard they had tried, the hedgehog had pondered another option.

He had grasped both the armadillo and the flying squirrel by their wrists, and encouraged them to do the same to him. Then, slowly, he pulled the two along, in a steady jog across the plains.

Despite the extra weight of two bodies, his velocity steadily began to increase to the point where he was rocketing across the plains. It was only at half his full speed, which slightly annoyed him.

But to Mighty and Ray, it was currently scaring the living daylights out of them.

"_HOW MUCH FASTER ARE YA GONNA GOO!!??" _The flying squirrel screamed, airborne due to his small size and the flaps of skin beneath his arms. He was grasping Sonic's wrist with both arms, as tightly as he possibly could for fear of being blown away. _"WE'RE GONNA FALL OFF, BACK HERE!! WE'RE GONNA DIIEE!!!"_

"_QUIT IT WITH THE 'DYING' BUSINESS!!" _The armadillo yelled back over to his younger companion, almost equally as panicked, his feet skidding across the ground, both occasionally lifting a few inches into the air from the speed.

"_SONIC! WE CAN'T HOLD ON MUCH LONGER!!"_ Mighty yelled, hoping that the hedgehog would even just _consider _slowing up his speed. By just a little.

Tiny bit…?

_Tiny _tiny bit…?

The armadillo then caught sight of the euphoric grin that Sonic flashed back at him, and gave a resigned sigh.

…Or not.

"_HOLD ON TIGHTER! I'M GONNA GO FASTER!"_

Mighty's eyes grew wide.

"_**WHAT?!!"**_

"_TRUST ME! YOU'LL BE FINE!!"_

Ray's breath was caught in his throat, as the hedgehog bowed his head forward as fast as he possibly could. His legs powered up and he managed to shoot forth a good few metres –

Both the armadillo and the flying squirrel were just about ready to scream. They were ready for the surrounding forces to blow their faces off. They were ready for their hearts to stop, and for Sonic to accidentally let go and send Ray flying into the heavens, and Mighty six feet under the ground.

But that didn't happen.

Internally, the hedgehog was scowling. He knew he could go faster than this, though both the armadillo and the flying squirrel weighed him down. But this speed was enough. This speed – he recalled – was special to him. It wasn't the fastest he could run. Nor was it exhilarating for him, by any stretch of the imagination.

But he remembered, a long time ago, when it used to be so. And looking around him, Sonic was reminded exactly why.

Everything surrounding them was a blur. The trio was cut off from the world around them. There seemed to be hardly any sound – the distinctive grass blades within the fields seemed to blend into one another. The darkening skies were free of any stray clouds, which had seemingly blended into the atmosphere.

Ray and Mighty fell silent, for the first time since Sonic had broken almost 50 kilometres per hour whilst dragging them along. And that notion alone caused the hedgehog to realise –

- they understood. They understood, now. Not _exactly_. But they still understood.

Sonic smiled, glancing back at both Ray and Mighty. The flying squirrel still appeared rather shaken from the sudden burst of speed. But his wide, mahogany eyes seemed to be surveying their surroundings, brimming with wonder and amazement. He was still suspended in air, and the winds were still rushing past him, faster than ever – but something was different about him. He was seemingly relaxed – mostly just taking in everything that he could see…

Mighty, too, seemed relaxed. Yet he was significantly calmer-looking than his younger companion, his turquoise eyes abandoning their surprised look. Instead, he appeared to be in a daze – just taking in everything around him, but at the same time, looking as if he was letting his mind wander…

The spell was broken when Sonic, upon observing both of his friends, lost coordination with his feet, once more.

With a yelp, the trio landed hard upon the ground, Sonic hard on his stomach, Mighty on his shoulder, and Ray being forcefully pulled out of the air by the fallen hedgehog to land on his face. The three skidded a good couple of metres across the grassy ground, the winds that surrounded them roaring in their ears, before ceasing, as the fallen trio skidded to a complete stop.

None of them moved for a few moments.

Then, slowly, steadily, Ray rose first, spitting out any grass and dirt that had been forced into his mouth. Starts danced before his eyes, and he sank back to the ground with a moan.

Mighty sat up, rubbing his shoulder, followed by Sonic, who was forcing himself to breathe steadily, once more – he'd been slightly winded, again.

There was a brief silence, the three still a little taken aback to even speak. Instead, the hedgehog and armadillo glanced at one another, slightly shaken.

Then, a small giggle sounded from the flying squirrel, who was still face down on the ground, his body shaking with laughter.

It couldn't be helped. The silence was completely broken. Both Sonic and Mighty had burst out laughing, Ray joining in soon after as he rose, wiping the dirt and grass stains off his face. It hadn't needed much of a trigger – the shaken three were lying on the ground, laughing so hard that their sides hurt.

They had been so scared. Even Sonic – he'd never liked crashing. They'd genuinely though that their time was up.

But their laughter wasn't out of relief. It wasn't out of a slight feeling of insanity one would have gained in that situation, either.

They were laughing, because all three of them had just had a _ball_.

Eventually, their giggling began to subside, and instead of rolling around and grasping their sides, Sonic, Ray and Mighty lay still, breathing hard, staring up to the darkening skies, painted the warm colours of evening. The first few stars were starting to appear in the sky above, glimmering brightly as if they were diamonds.

The sound of crickets began to echo around the plains – very quietly, and very few, but enough to signal that evening was well on the way. And it was with this signal that all three of them began to suddenly feel immensely tired – even the hedgehog. It hadn't been easy to drag either Mighty of Ray all over the place…

"Hey, Sonic?"

The Mobian glanced up to his right, where the flying squirrel lay, his tired gaze still cast up to the skies.

"I… think I get why you like to run, so much."

A chuckle came from his upper left, and Sonic rolled his head over to see Mighty, arms folded across his chest as he stared up at the increasing number of stars.

"I think I second that."

The hedgehog blinked. "You '_second' _it?"

Mighty gave a brief glance down to Sonic, with a smirk.

"Means that 'I agree.'"

"Oh."

The hedgehog resumed his gaze up to the evening sky. Truth be told – he'd never really done this before. He'd never spent so much time with anyone else other than Robotnik. Not even with his parents… at least, before they'd been swept away.

He wondered why. Was it because he'd hardly been bothered to do so? Running in races had always been fun – being number one was fun, too.

Yet… hanging out with these two had made him ponder.

Perhaps, throughout racing – with only the goal of winning in mind…

…maybe he'd missed out on something.

888

The skies were a deep navy when Sonic had begun to make his way back to Robotnik's base. The departure from both Mighty and Ray had been gradual – the three were exhausted, and unable to register too much of a thought. Yet he dimly remembered the trio promising they'd meet again tomorrow – and that was all.

He hadn't told the duo about where he lived – his promise to the doctor still stuck in his mind, and after all this time, he wasn't about to break it. Mighty had been slightly more open about his and ray's whereabouts, however – they lived near the main village of Green Hill, around the cliff face and down in the valley. There wasn't much left of the old villages, due to the flooding, but it still made for a great meeting place.

It was a few moments in the darkness of Sonic stumbling around half asleep through the trees, before the small plateau that marked the Doctor's whereabouts came into view. Attempting to shake the drowsiness out of his head, Sonic blearily glanced upwards at the domed structure upon the landform.

Truth be told, he hadn't been counting on climbing up that thing. Especially in this tired state…

A loud _BANG_, followed by a series of loud _CRASH_es jerked Sonic from his dreamy state, though he was soon genuinely surprised as a large chunk of smoking metal was hurled out one of the dome's circular windows with an almighty _SMASSHH!_

Sonic flinched, ducking down as several pieces of glass showered him, a couple of shards scraping past his fur. Though upon rising, and shaking his head abruptly, he jumped nearly a foot into the air in shock as a loud _WHAM _sounded inches behind him, and sudden warmth flooded his back, to the point where it was almost uncomfortable.

Sonic was frozen, unable to really fully comprehend what had just happened. But he was awake, now.

Confused, but awake.

Slowly, cautiously, he turned around, realising that the enormous chunk of smoking metal that had burst from the dome's window had impacted the ground only several inches from behind. His heart leapt into his throat when he realised that he'd nearly been squashed mercilessly into the ground.

Yet Sonic, upon spotting the hulking metal, suddenly felt a minor wave of curiosity sweep over him. The hunk of metal wasn't exactly solid – its edges were glowing orange, indicating that it had been in an enormous explosion, heating it up. The hedgehog had seen it happen before, in another few of Robotnik's experiments…

As soon as his heart leapt into his throat at the fact that the good scientists may had been involved in such an explosion, a frontal layer of the melting hunk of metal fell away from the main body, revealing what lay underneath. Sonic blinked hard, realizing that the smoking metal had been a compartment of sorts – a huge metal container…

…housing what appeared to be a…

Sonic's eyes narrowed.

… bright … red…

"…Gem…?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts, as someone roughly yanked him back by the arm, from the large, hot debris. Glancing up over his shoulder, Sonic realized that Robotnik had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his frontal labcoat scorched, and a few burns present on his face.

The hedgehog blinked. "Doc?"

Instead of a friendly greeting, Sonic flinched at the cold glance that the scientist gave him, through his burns and broken glasses. There was no compassion for the young Mobian, nor was there concern. Nothing that he had ever seen before.

He… just looked _mad._

"Get inside." It was a demand, and despite its harshness, the young hedgehog was all-too-inclined to obey. The earlier drowsiness gone, Sonic made a bolt for the face of the plateau, quickly scrambling up the cracks that heavily adorned the landform, as the scientist placed his attention back on the mysterious debris.

And despite his confusion, fear, and curiosity –

- the hedgehog never looked back.

888

This took me a while… just trying to establish the friendship between these three, a little more.

I'm wishing all of you readers a Merry Christmas, Hannukkah, whatever you celebrate. And thanks for sticking with me, so far. : D

NettikGirl


	4. Eyes of Malice

Disclaimer : Don't own nothing… Don't write this for profits… Just for my own amusement. :D

888

"… _Sonic?"_

The hedgehog stirred fitfully in his troubled slumber, curling up more tightly into a foetal position. His eyes remained tightly shut, unable to slide open… they would sting like crazy if he did so…

… if he…

His body relaxed.

… so … _tired… _

"_Sonic…"_

He groaned, his small form tensing up, once again. He hadn't had much sleep the previous night, and this factor came into play when he finally, and begrudgingly, opened his eyes. Everything was a blur, swimming around his vision. Even his jade eyes themselves didn't possess the same radiance as before.

Once more, they slid shut, the presence of soft, yet bright lights stinging into them.

To his comfort, the hedgehog wasn't bothered by a prodding voice, anymore. But as soon as he'd managed to prepare slipping into another slumber, he released a small yelp, and jolted awake as he felt his body suddenly being lifted clear off the ground upon which he'd slept.

Ground… no…

Floor. Steel floor… That was right…

He rubbed one eye sleepily, his vision still heavily distorted with sleep, as he felt himself being placed back down, once more, his back up against a chilling wall. The cold brought him further out of consciousness, and he glanced upwards at the voice's owner (plus the person who he'd assumed sat him up) his vision clearing slightly.

He shook his head, slightly.

"Hey… Doc." Sonic said, half – smiling, still very much half-asleep. The scientist was kneeling at the hedgehog's level, his pale blue eyes staring intently at him, in what seemed like concern at a first glance. However, the young Mobian seemed somewhat oblivious to the good Doctor's expression, and finally, he managed to shake himself awake.

"What's… going on?" He offered, his tone morphing into that of confusion. Now that he'd gained a proper view of the good Doctor, he'd suddenly had reason for slight concern. Robotnik's attire was in ruins, once more – his while lab coat was singed, ripped and torn around the sleeves. A small crack had appeared upon one of his rounded spectacles, and sat crooked upon his rather long nose. On top of that – his orange moustache looked even more unkempt than usual.

Despite this, however, in response to Sonic's earlier question Robotnik abruptly shook his head.

"It's… nothing, really." The Doctor stated, with a weak smile. "But I … well, I found you sleeping down here."

Sonic's eyes widened slightly, and his jade green orbs glanced around, taking in his surroundings. 'Here,' as Robotnik had described, was one of the rather obscure areas of the laboratory dome – right behind the food supplies, and just about the furthest away from the Doctor's workspace. He hadn't even grabbed a blanket, nor had he dimly considered bringing along his pillow. He's just…

…_hidden _here.

"It took me a while to find you, Sonic." Robotnik sighed, placing a hand on the suddenly agitated hedgehog's head. "You weren't in bed, you weren't anywhere near my work station…"

"_**Get inside."**_

Robotnik withdrew slightly from the young Mobian, as a rather fearful and confused gaze suddenly met his eyes, peering up through the Doctor's long and gangly fingers that hovered over his head. His own expression loosening in slight surprise, he sat down properly before the hedgehoghis hand retreating to his side.

"…Sonic?"

The hedgehog remained silent, for a moment, his gaze still fixed on the doctor's face, as if trying to make out something. Finally, he spoke.

"… You were… you were acting real weird last night, Doc…"

A flicker of surprise appeared upon Robotnik's weathered features, and he blinked hard, his discomfort visible from behind his spectacles. "Weird…?"

Sonic tilted his head to the side, slightly, a majority of his own fear giving way to confusion. "…Yeah…?" He continued to survey the Doctor, as his gaze grew astray. Looking closely, it now appeared that Robotnik himself seemed to be the most disturbed out of the two…

No… Disturbed was an understatement. The Doctor seemed… well… Sonic couldn't really tell. His gaze was cast downwards, and his expression was way too difficult to read. Otherwise, he… just didn't look right. He didn't look like he knew what to say…

And, well… the Doc had always been one to know such a thing.

Sonic was still pondering this matter, when Robotnik suddenly rose up, back on his two feet, wordlessly. Standing up with him, and finally managing to catch a better glimpse of the Doctor's expression, Sonic was slightly disappointed to see that the apparent concern had toned down. Robotnik just seemed as mild-mannered as ever.

"… _How_ strange?" He asked, his gaze growing thoughtful.

"Uhm…" Sonic blinked. "Well… you weren't… _you._ You acted weird. Like… I guess…" The hedgehog thought hard. "… _mean._ Like another person."

He'd expected this info to be even more alarming to the good Doctor, yet he didn't receive the same reaction he'd been expecting, regardless.

Robotnik just seemed to take this into stride, and continued on.

"Did I… well, _do _anything?"

The young Mobian glanced up at the thoughtful doctor, now growing somewhat cautious.

"…I came back… from my run outside." He began, slowly, just in case Robotnik had missed anything. "… Then I came up to the big rock your house is on…"

"The plateau?"

"Y-yeah, that… and when I was walking up to it – there was a… well, a 'boom.' An _explosion. _(Sonic had only just gotten the hang of that word – he'd first heard it when the scientist had first defined what had happened in one of his faulty experiments) – There was uh… there was this big chunk a' metal that came out…A-and… it almost _hit _me…"

There was a pause.

Robotnik, seemingly silenced by this outcome, knelt back down to face the hedgehog.

"You… the _chamber_… almost hit _you?_"

Sonic's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Uh… Guess so… Had this big red … _gem _inside of it, Doc. Was that a _chamber_? Or do we call them _gems_, like you said?"

More silence from the scientist. His stare grew slightly astray, though the hedgehog noted that he was trying with all of his effort to remain attentive to the young Mobian. He ran a hand through his balding head, and gave a shaky sigh, his gaze finally resumed on Sonic.

"You're… alright, aren't you?" Robotnik asked. "You weren't hurt?"

The hedgehog shook his head. "Uh… no, Doc."

"You didn't feel… 'weird' after you saw that gem?"

Sonic blinked. "I was kinda freaked out…" He admitted, his eyes focusing down on the ground. "B-but… uh… _no._ I was okay." He corrected himself, quickly, regaining a rather defiant stare up to the scientist. "I mean… I didn't cry or nothing. I don't cry anymore, just so you know - "

The hedgehog trailed off as the scientist placed a gloved hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it tightly. Looking back over to Robotnik, it became obvious that the good Doctor appeared rather relieved – but in a very exhausted manner, he could tell. He just looked drained. Not that much like the Doc he knew.

But…

Sonic placed his hand upon Robotnik's, clamped on his shoulder.

"… You _were_ a little scary." He admitted, with a weak grin.

The Doctor gave a nod, withdrawing from the young Mobian. It seemed that gesture alone seemed to restore his energy – it seemed to be coming back to him now, in waves.

"Yes, I… I think I was." Robotnik nodded, with a sigh. "I apologise if I…"

The Doctor hesitated, earning a rather confused look from the hedgehog, once more.

"If you _what_? Doc… you _remember_ what really happened last night."

Sonic tilted his head to the side, features scrunched in deep thought.

"Don't you?"

He received a tired smile in return, as Robotnik rose back up on his two feet, adjusting his glasses properly upon his long nose – whatever shakiness that had been there before, he'd seemed to have recovered from it all, now. Dusting off his tattered labcoat, he gave a sigh.

"It's what happens when you get older, Sonic. You don't remember things very well."

The remark earned a loud laugh from the young hedgehog. "So what? You're like, _really_ old?!" He asked, grinning mischievously, also having recovered from the confusion of the previous conversation. "How old?"

Giving a fake scowl at the remark, the scientist pretended to ponder the matter for a few brief moments, before giving an exaggerated sigh.

"Well, that's a pity. I can't remember _that_, either."

Sonic sulked. "Aw… c'mon, Doc. Is it really such a big deal?"

"To me, yes." Robotnik countered, with a wry smile. "Tell you what. How does breakfast sound to you? Might jog my memory a little."

The wide-eyed expression he received in response was enough to make him chuckle out loud. Though as soon as it had been present for nearly three seconds, it had promptly vanished before his eyes, as the young hedgehog made a break for the neighbouring food supply crates.

Sonic hauled one of the crate lids open, and began to dig around in its contents, determined to dig up any of the ingredients for a chilli dog. Yet as he searched feverishly, the back of his mind was still racing, dizzied from the previous events.

He had to be honest with himself – he didn't know why the Doc had acted so strangely. And to be truthful… he didn't even think that Robotnik was acting like himself, _now. _He seemed to act like he was real exhausted – not focused on much… more like he was _scared _of something.

Sonic's thoughts screeched to a halt briefly, when he managed to uncover a packet of frozen hot dogs. He placed them on the floor next to him, with a triumphant grin.

Whatever. Even if the Doc had seemed shaken… it was over now, right? He wasn't acting mean, or scary, anymore, was he? That wasn't going to happen again…

…was it?

The hedgehog did not receive the same jolt of excitement he thought he would receive upon finding a bag of hot-dog buns.

It wouldn't happen again, he told himself quietly.

It would _never _happen again…

… But he knew in his heart that _that _factor was what _he _wanted.

For all he knew, nobody else did.

888

Two years passed as the Green Hill Zone finally managed to recover from the damage taken from the ongoing flooding that had plagued them. Finally regaining confidence in their homes, the state of their Zone, and their unharmed, playful children, the citizens of Green Hill Zone began to move back down into their homes, lower into the valley.

After months of hard work and toil, the housing was restored to its previous glory – or even higher, as many egotistical architects in the area would point out. To many, it didn't matter what their homes looked like – what mattered was that all the formerly shelterless folk of the Zone now had a roof over their heads.

Yet further up in the valley, where more and more Mobians began to build their new homes, in the fears that the dreaded flooding would return after an extended period of time, a burst of new technology came forth.

See, the more eager, technological minds of the area had decided to use their recently updated _machinery_ to carve out housing around the upper valley's walls! To many, the concept had sounded brilliant, and to the rest, rubbish. There had been no proof that the flooding would return, and even if they did pull off stone housing rather than that of bricks and branches, it was pointed out that the designated construction area was still too low to escape the floodwaters if they ever _did _return.

The architects pretended not to hear that.

Instead, they went straight to work, determined to prove their intelligence and talent. They planned out as much as they could, modified the machines to the best of their ability, and finally, they set to work.

What resulted was a major disaster.

No-one knew the very cause. Some blamed the architects. Other blamed the self-proclaimed technological minds. And some just laughed. But whatever the cause, the fact remained that the attempt to create housing out of the valley walls was a complete failure.

The machinery had gone totally haywire. Drills that were supposed to go in directly into the impending rock had instead begun drilling large, circular holes, drilling deep enough to break all the way through the valley wall. And when the builders had attempted to restrain these, it eventually became apparent that things were only being made worse.

In the end, the upper valley had been entirely transformed, but not in the way many had pictured. Instead of housing, the valley walls had been turned into strange circular formations, ("loop-de-loops," as they called them) and occasionally, large dips would be cut deep into the wall – threatening to channel water from the neighbouring ocean.

Knowing that these actions had done far more harm than good, the architects and builders suffered a blow to their ego, and left the disastrous upper Green Hill Zone as it was, for fear of making things worse. Besides, what 'machinery' they'd managed to get their hands on had hardly been the likes of what anybody had ever seen, before.

The builders claimed that they had no idea how to work them.

And the few that _did_ understand the mysterious controls, regardless of their efforts, were almost completely certain that something unseen – a broken part, or some other kind of mystical _force_ – had been responsible for the problem.

888

"_Yo, Doc! You awake?"_

A loud crash sounded as a reply, as well as a loud crackle of electricity, echoing loudly throughout the dome. It broke the still silence of morning, even causing a few of the outside trees to evacuate their branches of Flickies. A couple of cuss words were uttered under the scientist's breath, before fading into nothing – the enormous steel dome was silent, once more.

Cringing slightly, but unmoved from his position sitting back against one of the laboratory walls, a twelve-year-old Sonic the Hedgehog took the loud series of sounds as a "Yes." Content, he took another bite out of a peanut-butter sandwich, grasped firmly in his gloved hand, and gave a disappointed sigh.

It just didn't have the same _"Oomph!" _as the flavour of a Chilli Dog… they'd run out of those, last night…

"_Sonic!" _

The hedgehog grimaced. _Here come the fireworks._

He glanced to his side to see the fuming scientist storm up to him – and couldn't help but crack a small grin.

_Literally. _

Dr Robotnik's orange, tangled moustache had been singed terribly on one side, still glowing orange from the fading embers that had threatened to burn it clean off. His coat was covered in burns, but nothing appeared irreplaceable – just a few stitch jobs, here and there, would put it back to its old self in no time.

Sonic wished he could say the same about the old scientist.

"You wanted me to make sure you woke up on time, Doc." The young hedgehog reminded, half-heartedly. He took another bite out of his sandwich, and then cringed slightly – the peanuts were already getting to him.

"There are _other _ways of doing that than _yelling across the room!"_ Robotnik hissed, in frustration. "You ruined Stage 5 of my main project! _Again!"_

Sonic dropped his sandwich, holding up his gloved hands to either side of his head, giving a sheepish smile to the fuming scientist.

"Chill, Doc… At least your glasses didn't crack, this time."

"Is it _really _so difficult?" The doctor's enraged, shaking tone managed to calm down, slightly, but the hedgehog knew better than to put down his guard. "To just… _walk _over to where I'm working, and _say _something?"

Sonic shook his head. "Just tryin' to keep up with your rules, Doc." He picked up his sandwich again (though he was more interested in looking the part of being at ease, rather than actually eating it) before standing up.

"Number one – you _never_ let me around the work station. Fifteen feet away, you said." The hedgehog recited, counting with one finger as he did so. "Number _two –" _(the finger suddenly had a partner) " – I'm supposed to wake you up from your work place, if you fall asleep workin' on something."

Sonic gave a bemused grin.

"Now, help me out here, Doc – how do I know if you're awake or asleep, if I'm fifteen feet away, behind all this junk, and can't even see you?"

The Doctor gave a small scowl, but the hedgehog knew he'd won this round. Regardless of the fact that the Doctor himself was a scholar, an intellect beyond extraordinary – Sonic often enjoyed himself, finding little loopholes in the scientist's words.

It just gave him another excuse to ridicule old Robotnik.

"Don't try getting smart with _me, _Sonic." The scientist mused. "If you have nothing better to do than to drive me off the edge, I suggest you leave."

The young hedgehog gave a wry smile, before feigning disappointment within his jade-green eyes.

"Aw, c'mon, Doc… S'not like I _meant _to drive you crazy, or anything…" He threw the peanut butter sandwich over his shoulder, his unsuccessful breakfast landing in a waste bin a couple feet away. Sonic's playful expression returned as he did so, and he grinned.

"Can't expect me to be perfect _all _the - "

"_**Sonic**__."_

The grin vanished off the hedgehog's face, once the threatening tone reached his ears. Glancing up at Robotnik's own features, the typical rage that had burned within the scientist's eyes had grown absent.

What had replaced it was a malicious, fiery glare.

"I said, _**get out**_"

There was no argument. No playful rebuttal that the young Mobian could try to come up with. That tone… and that _look –_ were both enough to completely silence Sonic the Hedgehog.

He got the idea.

He got the idea entirely.

Without a word, the Mobian gave a small, obedient nod, before turning away from the furious scientist, and walked in the direction of the exit of the dome, his pace hurried.

As his quickly slid on his shoes, his expression remained set in stone, yet his jade green eyes betrayed a look of anxiety. He hurriedly stood up straight, dashed for the door, and typed in the combination lock upon the neighbouring keypad that he'd memorised after so long.

Yet only now, he made a few errors on the dial as his fingers trembled slightly.

As he finally managed to open up the door, Sonic the Hedgehog gave a running leap off of the plateau, taking in a large gasp of fresh air as he did so, his brown fur shining slightly in the morning sun. Away from the dusty old base, and into the overgrowth of the forest that surrounded it.

Sonic landed hard in a low crouch, one hand flung out to the ground in order to steady himself. Then, giving a small glance up over his shoulder, back up at the base from which he'd leapt, he noted the mechanical door sliding closed once more, with a loud _CLANK. _

Taking in a sharp breath, he bolted in the opposite direction, as fast as his feet could carry him… and further away from the leering eyes of the scientist, Sonic's expression soon gave way to frustration.

Doc was acting weird again…

888

"I… _really _don't get this…"

Ray the Flying Squirrel stared up at the mysterious structures, an eye ridge raised in confusion. Since his and Sonic's first meeting, his yellow fur had grown slightly longer, and a great deal more murky, having fallen into the habit of a young eleven-year old boy who never washed. Still, his amber-brown eyes managed to retain many sparks of intelligence, yet for now, they were simply clouded in confusion.

"There's not much _to _get, Ray." Came a voice to his left. "The architects _really _blew it on this place…"

Mighty the Armadillo's façade was still as calm and as collected as ever, yet his expression was slightly scrunched in bemusement. Over the years, he'd grown slightly taller than his younger friend, his back shell growing a deeper red and his ears having lengthened in size. Both arms were crossed, mostly out of contempt for the people responsible for this outcome.

"… So… what went _wrong?_"

Mighty and Ray turned to acknowledge the new voice, both grinning at their friend's arrival.

"Just about everything, perhaps?" The armadillo smirked, holding a hand out to Sonic, who slapped it with his own in greeting, grinning in return. "How's it going?"

"Awright." The hedgehog shrugged offhandedly, giving a small wave over to Ray, who smiled back. Then, he turned to glance up at the carved - out structures that proceeded to stretch out before him, his gaze wide in what seemed like surprise and amusement.

"So… they said that this was all an _accident?"_

The three young Mobians had all received word about what had happened no more than a week or so, ago. After much debating, and working on excuses to travel up to the upper valley of Green Hill to keep unwanted parents off their back (Sonic excluded) the trio had decided to meet at the large formations, mostly out of curiosity of appearance.

It hadn't been easy for Mighty to climb. On top of the fact that the armadillo had a rather large fear of heights, his old sandals were not that efficient in terms of clambering up the valley walls. At least Ray had prevented him from tumbling down too far, when his sliver of courage left him, and he automatically curled up into a protective ball.

"Doesn't really look like one, does it?" Ray asked, scratching his head. "Wonder if the architects planned this one out from th' start?"

"I doubt it." Mighty shook his head. "There's no _way _they can call this housing. It almost looks like a roller coaster."

Sonic and Ray turned to the armadillo in unison. "A _what?"_

A rather exasperated smile appeared on the older Mobian's features, and he shook his head, his eyes closing. "A _roller coaster."_ He stressed, reopening his turquoise eyes. "My Dad told me about them – he said they're all over the place… I mean, further away from here. Like in Carnival Night Zone, he said…"

Ray blinked. "Things that go upside-down? Sounds a little freaky."

"Yeah… but apparently, it's a lot of fun…" Mighty gave a small smile, though his gaze suddenly seemed to grow slightly distant, through this mention. The young flying squirrel's gaze resumed back on the circular structures, seemingly oblivious to the armadillo's state.

With a small glance in response to Mighty's silence, however, Sonic gave a small smirk of sorts.

"Well, whaddaya say we explore this place?" Ray offered, with a shrug. "Mean, it's the same as before, right? Wonder if the builders moved the rings, or somethin'…?"

His voice had already faded into the large structures, echoing slightly as the young flying squirrel ventured further away. Snapping out of his sudden daze, and noting his companion's absence, Mighty quickly began to make his own way through the structures, attempting to tail Ray.

Yet he was stopped up by a small tug on his arm. He turned to see Sonic, with a rather amused smile upon his face.

"… Are you gonna visit that place when you start travelling?"

The armadillo blinked. "Which place…?"

"The one you were just talking about. With the roller coasters, and all."

There was a brief silence. Mighty stared over at his companion, appearing rather dazed, his turquoise eyes betraying his slight embarrassment. Then, they closed, and he shook his head.

"I dunno. Perhaps."

A large grin had appeared on Sonic's features. "I think it'd be cool! I mean, you exploring all the Zones and everything. You really wanna travel, don't you?"

Mighty gave a small smirk in the hedgehog's direction, as they began to walk through the structures, finally deciding that it was time they caught up to Ray.

"Try telling that to the rest of the people around here." The armadillo sighed. "They think it's impossible."

"Doesn't mean _you_ should think so." The hedgehog pointed out. "It'd take a while, sure – but it'd work out, right?" He added, giving Mighty a thumbs-up.

The armadillo gave a tired-looking smile. The previous year, closing in on the New Year celebrations, he'd been rather talkative to Sonic about his greatest desire – to leave Green Hill and explore the world beyond. He admitted that he probably didn't know what it would be like – moving from place to place, and never really having a proper home – and most of his ideas about travelling had come from his father, Blockhead Bill's stories, from his own days of travelling.

And even then, he'd only been to the neighbouring Zones. Mighty often wondered how much further one could travel. Was there anyone other than Mobians on this world? Did Mobians look different in other areas? What exactly _happened _out there? Was it just like Green Hill? Or totally different?

After being put down by a few of his other friends due to his theorising, Mighty had soon become rather secretive of this dream of his. Sonic, on the other hand, had seemed to encourage him. The more he'd heard about Mighty's theories of the 'outside world,' the more the hedgehog's curiosity had grown. He often fantasized if there was an even _bigger _field to run in – he was starting to clear the Zone's own field in less than two minutes flat at top speed.

The armadillo gave a sigh. It didn't hurt to dream. Just 'making it happen,' as his folks used to say, was the hard part.

"I… guess it could work out." Mighty muttered to himself. Maybe he could leave. When he was a little older, at least – for now, he couldn't exactly picture himself all alone. The more he thought about _that _little factor, the less encouraged he felt.

Yet… the thought of actually _being _out there…

A spark of life suddenly seemed to flicker in the armadillo's eyes, and his smile became genuine.

"Yeah… it'll work out."

Satisfied to see that his friend had regained his optimism, Sonic chuckled. "Maybe I'll come with you. Y'know, just out of curiosity."

"Maybe." The older Mobian nodded, crossing his arms. "Knowing you, you'd catch up to me in seconds."

"Can't argue with that!" Sonic flashed a cocky grin, earning a loud laugh from

Mighty.

"Oh, man! I can picture that! Goin' back and forth from me to Green Hill every few minutes… Like…" He cleared his throat, taking on the closest tone he could to the hedgehog's voice. "'How're you going, Mighty?' 'Your father says to wash behind your ears, Mighty.' 'You forgot your chores, Mighty!'"

"Hey, hey!" The grin vanished off Sonic's features. "I'm a hedgehog, not a message boy!"

"Sorry. First image that came to mind." The armadillo said, chuckling. Then, his carefree expression suddenly faded abruptly, replaced with slight concern.

"Whoa, hold up… Where did Ray go?"

The hedgehog's own expression morphed to worry. "He just went up ahead…"

The two glanced forth, through the battered upper valley wall, trying to make out their friend amongst the structures. Even just a flash of yellow, or any indication that their friend was around. But there was nothing. Just a grassy overgrowth, that was beginning to overtake the ruined lands, and the occasional loop-de-loop that rose up from the ground.

Sonic suddenly spun over to Mighty, jade eyes wide in terror.

"What if he fell off?!"

The armadillo shook his head. "The little guy can glide. He'd be fine."

The younger Mobian glanced over to his left, where the upper valley wall overlooked the endless, sparkling blue ocean.

He pressed his lips together.

"Mighty… can he _swim_?"

The armadillo opened his mouth, searched his thoughts for something reassuring, then closed it once more upon realising there was none. Sharing a glance with Sonic, the duo's panic suddenly reached up to high levels.

Which only increased as they heard the sound of a loud splash, not too far away from their position.

Sonic and Mighty broke into a furious run.

888

Ah, the wonders that are USBs…

If you guys have been keeping up with me on DevArt with this fic, you'll know that my internet's been taken down. There IS another wireless server, but we don't know whose that is, and downloading and uploading stuff on that one is a _big _no.

I'll keep up on my weekly updates from here on out.

NettikGirl


	5. Seas and Storms

Disclaimer: If I owned Sonic, Mighty'd probably be back in the games, by now…

888

Since the flooding of Green Hill Zone, it was safe to say that none of the Mobians who dwelled in this area particularly liked water.

It was used for drinking, swimming in, cooling off – but several parents, since the disasters that had befallen their small town, had often been wary upon spying their young ones paddling about in the very same substance which took so many lives.

Water took many forms, and did so many things, whether of good or ill. It could be gentle and playful – then turn rampant and destructive. It could carve itself through mountains as a river, or soar through the winds unseen, as moisture. It often wandered aimlessly, before either blessing or cursing anyone or anything that crossed its varying path.

The more philosophical minds of Green Hill viewed water as a life form – that it chose to do what it pleased, and that there were hardly any means of controlling it, regardless of tanks, canals, puddles and ponds. The water would always travel freely, cascade down the cliff walls, be caught by the wind as vapour, or even join with the most massive known body of water of all – the ocean.

The Mobians of Green Hill had always neighboured the ocean. Yet hardly had anybody dared to go forth and dive into the brilliant blue sea. Though it had its beauty, what lay there was a sense of foreboding – many people knew all too well that they were at the mercy of the ocean, and of water.

The citizens hadn't minded swimming, occasionally in the ponds and lakes. Yet they had always placed their children in the shallows, where they could be seen. Placed away from the depths, where they would risk drowning. In the shallows, where they could wade about…

… and not know a _thing _about swimming.

888

Ray the Flying Squirrel's fur stood directly on end. His amber eyes were wide, yet did not betray any tears. His lips curled over one another, as he took in a very dry gulp, and clenched his fingers into whatever crack in the cliff-face wall he could find, leaning his head forward into the weathered rock and shutting his eyes.

It wasn't a big drop. Ten feet parted the very top of the landform from the bottom. And to be honest, Ray had fallen further than twenty feet at the most, without breaking a sweat, knowing that the winds would guide him back down to the safe, sturdy ground.

The flying squirrel's eyes reopened, as he took in another deep breath, trying to calm his shaking body.

Unfortunately for him, he was lacking in the 'sturdy ground' department of his usual plan.

He'd raced up ahead of Mighty and Sonic, determined to explore, and surpass the hedgehog in his speed, for the time being. Though two older companions had been rather oblivious to the youngest of their group's intentions, Ray had often found himself envying the hedgehog's speed, every so often. So, every opportunity to get ahead of Sonic was always an opportunity seized.

It wasn't a huge obsession. Just a little gimmick that had become a part of his daily routine. He'd sometimes be in the mood to do so, especially when Sonic and Mighty began conversing on their own, regarding matters that the flying squirrel could not give a bother about.

So, when he realised that both of them were stuck in their own little talk, he'd raced ahead even further through the strange structures that now adorned the upper valley wall. Caught up in his own fantasy of surpassing what Mighty had claimed to be the fastest Mobian alive, he did not notice the terrain upon which he stood.

Now, many young children hardly know whether to differentiate stable and unstable terrain. Namely, cliff faces. So it wasn't entirely Ray's fault that he happened to step on a weary part of the weathered rock that just couldn't take any more wind, water, malfunctioning machinery, or a small flying squirrel stepping on it for that matter.

It gave way, causing Ray to side down the left side of the cliff face wall –

- and towards the deep blue ocean.

The flying squirrel gritted his teeth, hugging the unstable, weathered rock upon which he clung.

The fragment of cliff face had plunged into the water with a mighty splash – and Ray had been all-too-against following that route. Instead, he'd latched into the only footholds and handholds he could find – though even that wasn't proving to be very promising. Despite the weathered rock, there were very few cracks upon which he could grasp onto – much of the surface and rocks that had formerly jutted out had either broken off of had been worn away.

All made perfectly _more_ inconvenient that Ray wasn't exactly the best swimmer. Perhaps he could _flounder_ for a few minutes before drowning, but that was in the smooth, even ponds that neighboured his home.

This was the sea.

The churning, invincible sea.

So despite his abilities to glide, chatter, do cartwheels, briefly overtake Sonic in speed when he was distracted _and_ grip pretty firmly onto walls _with _footholds…

… Ray pretty much realized that he was doomed.

When that all dawned on him, the flying squirrel gulped in another deep, shaky breath. He'd intended to use it to calm himself down, to relax, and reassure himself that he'd make it out of this one, somehow.

Instead, he used the big gulp of air to scream out loud.

"_**HEEEELLLLPPP!!!"**_

888

Sonic's speed increased upon hearing Ray's scream, surpassing that of Mighty, who jogged at a steady pace alongside him. It hadn't sounded so far away – at least, he could tell that the flying squirrel hadn't fallen into the water as of yet. Yet as it sounded again, echoing throughout the structures and cliff walls, even more desperate than before, the hedgehog was more than fully aware that their friend was in deep trouble, nonetheless.

Yet though the situation called for it, Sonic couldn't go up to his full speed, around here. The place was full of obstacles in his path, and he could only settle for weaving through them, as frustrating as it was. On the clear, open fields, he felt he could easily break 400 kilometres by now.

Around here, on the other hand…

"_**HELLOO??!!"**_

Sonic blinked hard as a dull red flashed to his right, whilst the same panicked voice sounded once more, only metres away. Skidding to a halt, he realized that the armadillo had surpassed him briefly, his expression set in grim determination. He, too, had managed to stop on the spot, and hurry over to the cliff edge.

Though once he made out the cracks in the terrain, his treading grew cautious, and slow. Though he, too, was rather aversive to water, he'd been given experience with unsteady ground – through helping his father rebuild their hut, he'd had many times in which the roof caved in, once the timber structure cracked.

The chunk of rock missing from the lip of the cliff's edge, could only prove his theory correct. He motioned for a rather surprised Sonic (still a little miffed at the fact that he'd been overtaken by the armadillo) to stay put, before steadily lowering himself on one knee, placing both hands on the rock to steady him.

Hoping with all his heart that this motion would not start up a rockslide, he suddenly yelled down over the edge, once he felt he could go no further,

"_**RAY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"**_

There was a brief silence, and for a dreadful moment, both older Mobians assumed the worst. But the familiar high-pitched voice suddenly rang in their ears, as the flying squirrel managed to gain enough of his wits to reply.

"_**Y-YEAH? ISSAT YOU, MIGHTY?!"**_

"_**YEAH, IT'S ME!!"**_ The armadillo replied, the grim expression having faded into slight relief. Sonic noticed the subtle change, and gave a small sigh of relief, himself.

If there was one thing he'd observed about Ray and Mighty through the years, he noted that the two of them had always been a little closer than friends - but not in the 'suggestive' sense.

Mighty and Ray were almost like… _brothers_.

In terms of their relationship, at least. They bickered occasionally, there were some times in which they'd get in a fight and sometimes used the irritated hedgehog as a message boy between them, and mostly, in terms of conversation, Mighty was more interested in chatting with Sonic.

But when one or the other was in trouble… Ray would never stop talking about the matter until it was resolved, and Mighty would always take the most action until he was certain that Ray was out of harm's way.

"_**A-ARE YOU COMING DOWN?!"**_

"_**YEAH, DON'T WORRY!"**_ The armadillo replied. "_**STAY… STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, WE'LL HELP YOU OUT!"**_

Mighty glanced back over to Sonic, his expression firm. The hedgehog was more than understanding of the direness of the situation, and knelt down on the terrain, his jade eyes darting back and forth, trying to make out the route the armadillo had taken.

"Sonic, listen!" The older Mobian called, catching his attention. "I'll need you to come over here, but _not yet!_ I want you to look for some vines, ropes – anything that'll help Ray up!"

The hedgehog hesitated briefly, and Mighty could clearly see that he wanted in on the action. But he didn't have to explain that now was not the time for games, or being a 'hero' – Sonic bolted off, weaving through the structures, and searching feverishly throughout the new overgrowth for anything that could support him and a flying squirrel.

The armadillo's attention drew back to the cliff edge that obstructed his view of Ray, and decided to take a risk. Taking in a deep breath, he steadily, slowly, managed to make his way closer and closer to the edge, his breathing growing even, but shaky.

He peered over the edge, and spotted the flying squirrel a few metres below him, grasping onto what he could on the cliff face. His head had leaned in up against the rocky wall in dread, yet he seemed to be hanging in there – he'd controlled his breathing quite well, and managing to calm himself slightly.

Mighty, on the other hand, had seen enough. On top of the fact that one of his best friends was hanging on for dear life on a cliff wall, there was a ten – foot drop into the deep blue ocean that was situated directly underneath him…

The armadillo's turquoise eyes steadily retreated back over the edge of the cliff, and his head sank down on the weathered, cracked rock. He let out a shaking breath, trying, with all he could muster, to prevent himself from curling up into a protective ball. To him, it didn't matter whether it was ten feet or 100 feet, Mighty still despised heights – and he wasn't too crazy about water, either.

He swallowed hard.

"Get up, Mighty…" He whispered. "Stop it… stop it right now, get _up…" _He coaxed himself into rising, as soon as he heard the sound of approaching, running footsteps. Taking in a sharp breath, he rose, glancing over his shoulder to face Sonic, who had returned with decently-sized green vine, relatively thick, yet also rather frail-looking in some parts.

The armadillo nodded. It would have to do.

"Tie it up on that structure… The closest one – that's it!" Mighty directed the hedgehog towards a small, spire-like structure that neighboured one of the circular formations. There were no cracks on the thing, and considering it was supporting something almost a fourth its weight, it definitely shouldn't have been prone to giving way…

Sonic tossed the other end of the vine to Mighty, who caught it, and attempted to shake the fear out of himself. He managed to inch his way closer to the edge of the cliff, as he'd done before, swallowing up the terror and dizziness he'd felt once more, as the seemingly endless drop met his gaze, once again.

The hedgehog watched as something clicked in the armadillo's brain, and he clambered down over the edge, out of sight. The vine grew taut, and Sonic swallowed rather audibly – the weakened sections of the vine were stretching, slowly, but surely ripping apart from the strain.

Knowing that the vine wouldn't be able to fully hold out, the hedgehog stepped out past the spire, eyeing it to make sure that it was well-tied, and turned his attention back to the uneven terrain of the cliff wall.

He didn't want to say anything to panic Ray or Mighty, but he had to do _something. _He hated this feeling – of just being on the sidelines, and not being of much help at all. Sure, he'd just gone away and gotten a lousy vine, _big deal. _Mighty was the _real_ hero today, climbing down to save Ray in a noble effort.

Sonic knew all too well that his thoughts were rather childish, but he didn't quite care at the moment – especially when he heard a small yelp and noticed that the vine had lengthened another foot, threads of the plant threatening to snap.

"_**SONIC!"**_ Mighty's voice floated up the cliff side wall, and the hedgehog snapped out of his thoughts. _**"I'VE GOT RAY!! ANY CHANCE YOU CAN PULL US UP?!"**_

The younger Mobian heaved in a breath. Well, now that the opportunity was presented to him to save i _both_ /i their lives, Sonic had suddenly regretted thinking about trying to gain glory by always being the hero. If he thought about it, asking for the spotlight would probably do more harm than good – being in the action didn't guarantee him being a hero, right?

Still, he replied. _**"I'LL TRY! BUT TRY CLIMBING TOO, OKAY?!"**_

Hurriedly, he made his way onto the unstable terrain, but suddenly recalled Mighty's caution in this area, as a loud crack sounded from underneath his foot.

Eyeing the cracks that surrounded him, he slowly navigated his way through the cracked path, leaning down slightly, his fingers tracing over the stretching vine that neighboured him. His gaze switched to the vine, searching for the last weak link before the cliff's edge. Reaching it, he grasped the area closest to the cliff edge, and did all he could to pull it backwards.

Sonic strained. As far as he could tell, it was working, but at the same time, he was getting slightly impatient with his progress – the vine wouldn't hold for much longer, and for all he knew, the cliff edge could be sawing the tattered old thing in half!

Pulling with all his might on the stronger part of the vine, he felt the weight suddenly decrease, and his stomach dropped in fear, his eyes widening in shock. Had Mighty let go?!

The answer was yes, but not in the way the hedgehog had been picturing. A hand had appeared upon the cliff edge, a small grunt had sounded, and Ray the flying squirrel was hurled back over the edge, entering a glide in midair to avoid the unstable terrain that had served his fall. The younger Mobian landed on his belly, next to the spire upon which the vine was tied, and lay still, visibly shaking and occasionally kissing the ground.

Sonic's attention returned to Mighty, who slowly pulled himself up onto the cliff edge. His calm façade was gone, his turquoise eyes laden in concern – he was very much aware that he, too, could trigger a loose rock off the cliff and plummet downwards…

Noting this, the hedgehog released the vine, and hurried over to the armadillo, intent on pulling him up the rest of the way.

Yet here, he made a rather big mistake.

For one, he hadn't counted on the fact that he was stepping on several cracks.

He also hadn't realised that tugging Mighty upwards would introduce a large strain on the weakened terrain.

And that the weight of two pre-teen Mobians wouldn't be held any longer.

As soon as Sonic had made his move, an aghast Mighty had realised what would most likely follow. Eager to be out of danger for the last time, and finally stand on steady ground, the armadillo bolted for the neighbouring spire as soon as the hedgehog had hoisted him up.

A sickening rumble began to sound, and both Ray and Mighty had the remaining sliver of courage to glimpse back at the collapsing cliff edge.

The armadillo shut his eyes in frustration for a brief moment to curse, just after he saw a pair of wide jade eyes vanish from sight.

888

Sonic had no time to grasp any deteriorating footholds as he fell. His brain grew numb, his heart pumped full of adrenalin as shock set into his small body. He saw the cliff wall rush up before him, an occasional loose rock charging down past his helpless form. The wind whistled upwards through his ears, fur and spines, and he was involuntarily turned over on his stomach.

The fall seemed to take hours, but seconds after the ground had given way, Sonic had watched the water rise up to meet him, and he was enveloped in the cold, blue waters of the ocean.

The freezing water seemed to wake Sonic out of his shock, and he began thrashing desperately against the water, a stream of bubbles erupting from his mouth. He'd never been underwater before – never paddled in a pond or been exposed to the more violent floods a few years back.

He'd had no idea the water could be so terrifying.

He managed to break the surface briefly, gasping in as much of the cherished oxygen as he could, before being pulled back under, and receiving a mouthful of salty sea foam. Again, he struggled, kicking his arms and legs, heck, even _running _against the waters that surrounded him, pulling him back and forth. Yet his eyes stung against the saltwater, his vision blurring immensely, and he struggled to see underwater, the upset waves churning him this way and that.

The cliff… Where was the cliff…? He needed to get to the wall…

Another stream of bubbles erupted from his mouth, as his need for air rose once more.

He needed to get to the wall right now!

Little did he know, that the oceans were all too happy to comply, yet definitely not in the way Sonic would have preferred – helplessly, he found his oxygen-ridden body being pulled back, and through his blurry underwater vision, only seeing the chilling blue depths that surrounded him.

Then, he felt himself being thrown forth, along with a massive wave, and he suddenly came to see that the underwater cliff wall loomed up ahead of him, out of the darkness. Sonic tried to gasp, but ended up inhaling seawater as he realised that he was heading towards his goal at too high of a velocity –

Sonic was sure he heard a crack of sorts as he was slammed up against the wall with the mighty force of the wave, managing to squeeze whatever seawater he'd inhaled out of his lungs. To his minor relief, the wave retreated enough for the hedgehog's head to be above water, and he tried to get another gasp of air, though spent most of this precious time out of the furious ocean choking up seawater.

Hearing the looming sound of the waves rolling forth again, he managed to heave in another breath, before the water washed over his head, slamming him into the cliff wall a second time – and now his chest seemed to explode in pain.

He was swept back, away from the wall once more. Sonic, with a renewed burst of adrenalin, tried once more to swim, flail, even thrash to the point where he actually could move. But he remained stationary, struggling against forces against which he could never surpass.

The hedgehog was scared. Though his expression showed strain, he was genuinely scared. He knew that this wasn't a game, anymore. It wasn't any means of fun – and it wasn't anything he could outrun.

He couldn't move, here. He couldn't escape. He couldn't breathe.

His eyes shut tight as he felt the waves suddenly pull back once more, in preparation for crushing him up against the cliff wall, once more.

… He couldn't _run._

Sonic was hurled forth once more, and he braced himself for the impact – before he suddenly caught sight of a flash of yellow, just above the surface from which he could see. A hand plunged down through the wave, managing to grasp his own, and the hedgehog felt a sudden grip tighten around his wrist, almost uncomfortably.

A second splash sounded, and arms hugged around his upper torso, as he felt a large tug on his wrist, the force enough to cause his head to finally break the surface of the turbulent ocean.

Sonic began coughing up seawater once more, before he took in a loud gasp, his breathing raspy from the water clogging his throat. He felt the arms suddenly tighten around his chest, and the weary hedgehog glanced over his shoulder his alarmed but stinging gaze managing to make out Ray the flying squirrel holding onto him tightly, amber brown eyes filled with fear.

"Had to fly over - tie you up – 'fore you got hurt again - " He gasped out, squirming to keep his head above water. "Don't let – don't let go of the – vine - "

A vicious pull resonated from his wrist, and Sonic turned and instinctively grasped onto it with both hands – the vine had been wrapped around his wrist, as Ray had described. The two were being yanked across the waves, and the hedgehog saw (out of relief) that they were cutting over the waves, rather than underneath them – he was spared from being crushed against the cliff wall.

His bleary gaze came to focus onto the vine's source, and his eyes widened to spot Mighty, pulling with all his strength to get the two safely back on land. And it was through this when Sonic realised something else – a rather large chunk of the cliff had given way, leaving a rocky and uneven gap extending five feet down from its initial position. And it was from here where Mighty stood, a considerably easier position to retrieve the two.

Ray had hurriedly climbed up out of the water as soon as they had reached the lowered cliff wall, but had turned around to help the armadillo heave the exhausted hedgehog out of the water. Mighty felt compelled to slap Sonic on the back to rid his airways as the hedgehog coughed up what remained of the seawater in his lungs, though his spines prevented him from doing so.

Sonic flopped downwards, onto his back, managing to regain proper breathing, however drawn – out or raspy it was. Blinking his stinging eyes for a few brief moments, he suddenly curled himself up into a ball, flared out his quills, and shook himself out as much as he could.

Ray waited until he'd unfurled before approaching him.

"… You okay, Sonic…?"

The hedgehog had to think about his answer for a moment. Back then, of _course _he wasn't. He hadn't been at all. He'd nearly drowned, been crushed by the forces even _running _couldn't save him from. He definitely couldn't say that he was okay, not that he'd be in any hurry to repeat such an incident.

But _now…_

Sonic drew in a breath, his respiration becoming rhythmic, calming down.

_Now _he was safe. He was out of the sea, out of the water… He was alright.

And he really, really owed it to these two. If it hadn't been for Ray, gliding over and tying the vine on his wrist, or Mighty, who had used all his strength to pull the two of them ashore… he would have crashed a third time in the cliff face, and mostly likely have been knocked unconscious and sent deep into the crushing depths, by now.

Sonic couldn't say he was okay. But he did manage a weak smile in Ray and Mighty's direction. A tired "Thanks…" managed to escape his lips, and he had the expression to _mean_ it. He was so grateful – so relieved that these two had come. He owed them. He owed them a lot. He _would _pay them back, in any way he could…

Earning a sigh in return from Mighty, and a smile back from Ray, Sonic's gaze suddenly resumed back onto the ocean that spread out before him, as another wave suddenly crashed up against the cliff. Considering their lowered position, the hedgehog received a face full of sea spray, his eyes stinging once again.

He rubbed at them constantly, a small growl rumbling in his throat.

"Hate… _hate_… _HATE_ water!" He shivered.

888

Night descended onto Green Hill as quickly as it had left the morning before. Yet Sonic the Hedgehog had been graced enough past this point to make it to the Doc's base on the plateau moments after sundown. Needless to say, by the time he'd parted ways with his two close friends, run through the field that separated the base from the main village and clambered up the plateau, he was absolutely exhausted.

Sonic found himself leaning next to the keypad as he typed in the lock, his joints and body aching from the places his form had been thrown up against. Still, as the hulking door pushed out and slid open, he managed to stumble inside, kicking off his (rather soggy) shoes, and listen to the whine of machinery as the door slid closed behind him.

His ears suddenly perked up, listening for any sounds of tweaking or clanking that Robotnik could be doing at this hour. But the laboratory seemed to be completely silent – only the small, sing-song, spacey sounds of the machines surrounding him reached his ears. Their small, multicoloured lights blinked on and off, only just illuminating the room to the point of visibility.

Slightly more alert, now, Sonic walked over to the last place he'd seen the scientist – his work station. Though he clearly recalled his instructions to remain "fifteen feet away," he still pulled up a stool for himself nearby, placed it near the work table, and hopped up on it. There he sat, both arms crossing over each other on the table, his weary head resting on them.

Doctor Robotnik was asleep, right across from him. He didn't snore very audibly, which was surprising for a man of his age, yet he always seemed to sleep heavily. Tonight was not the case, however, as the scientist stirred, slightly, one bloodshot blue eye reopening, and peering through his spectacles. A brief look of confusion appeared on his features, before relaxing into a smile.

"Sonic…"

"Hey, Doc." The hedgehog replied, quietly. Here, he couldn't exactly help but feel relieved that he wasn't being yelled at in the face – though he couldn't exactly say he wasn't in the mood for a fight. "What's going on?"

Robotnik rose slightly, and Sonic could see a screwdriver firmly grasped in one hand, and what looked like anther failed miniature experiment in the other. Huh. So the Doc _did _make mistakes in his absence. Not that he felt like gloating about it.

"I… must have fallen asleep…" The scientist shook his head. "Pulled an all-nighter the other night…" He added, his smile sheepish. Sonic raised an eye-ridge in return.

"Doin' your big project?"

"Y… yes…" Robotnik replied, waking up enough to become aware that something in his young companion seemed rather tired – but overall troubled. The tired smile had faded off his features, and now he only seemed solemn, his jade-eyed gaze astray, his eyelids drooping, slightly.

"Is… did anything happen, when you were out?"

Sonic's head rose up off his arms, to face the scientist properly. His mouth opened automatically, ready to tell him about his daily events, what had happened when he and his friends had explored the structures, Ray's fall, Mighty's heroism, then _his _fall…

And closed his mouth, as something else came to mind.

He'd done this before. It had happened, so many times before. He'd always talk to him casually – always take everything in stride. Sonic had always put up with the scientist, not only by means of his constant workings that went on into night after night.

Maybe it was the fact that he'd almost died, today. Or maybe it was just the pent-up frustration coming into light. Whatever it was, Sonic sent his usual routine off-course, and instead asked Robotnik a question.

"What _is _your main project?"

He didn't expect an answer right away. And despite this, as soon as he'd heard a prolonged pause from the old scientist, his patience ran out. He jumped up, standing up on his stool, hands slamming down on the table before him.

"Doc,_ what's your main project!?_" He asked again, more forcibly, this time. When an answer still failed to emerge from Robotnik's lips, the hedgehog gritted his teeth, and suddenly allowed all the words pent up inside him to plummet forth.

"**Well, **_**whatever**_** it is, it's making **_**you**_** act **_**weird**_**!"** He started. **"I keep havin' to put up with your new rules, **_**every single day **_**and dread gettin' yelled at when I come home – and then I can't tell if you're gonna be **_**nice **_**o –or… !!"** Sonic shook his head furiously, his gaze fixing down on the steel work table.

"**I-I mean – I can't tell with ya, anymore! You work on your 'main project,' and suddenly, you just… **_**well - !**_ **You start actin' so **_**weird – **_**you… **_**mean - !**_**"**

Sonic felt a tap on his shivering shoulder, but he wasn't quite done, yet.

"_**What's happened to ya?! **_**I-I mean – what're you workin' on?! Why're you actin' this way!? It's gotten **_**heaps **_**worse…! Used to happen every month – now it's every **_**day! **_**I - !!"**

His arms shook, unable to support his body any longer. With that, he collapsed back onto the stool, burying his head into his crossed arms upon the table, once more. He didn't cry (he'd learned somewhat already that it never did him any good), but his body shook in an enormous effort to suppress the urge to do so.

There was a long silence.

The hedgehog drew in a muffled, shuddering gasp. There. He'd said it. He _had _to say something – after two years of putting up with the seemingly oblivious Robotnik's mood swings, from one to another…

He didn't understand the scientist, anymore. When he was in his _good _moods, he could get along fine with him, but even _those _seemed to be lessening in their efficiency to make up for the _bad _moods…

A lot of those times, the good scientist had always seemed so _tired _

"…Sonic."

Robotnik waited until the hedgehog gave up his stubbornness, and his head rose from his arms to look at him properly. His tone had grown solemn, yet his eyes betrayed a look of thoughtfulness.

It seemed that he'd been pondering his next reply very hard.

"… Am I able to trust you with my greatest secret of all?"

888

The "life changing" stuff happens in the chapter after, I suppose. And I gave Mighty a bigger part here – the part of the "hero" – because I think he came just before Sonic, when SEGA was trying to come up with a new mascot. One of the concept designs was an armadillo. Heh.

The next chapter will come shortly.

NettikGirl


	6. Inside the Mind

Discaimer: If I owned Sonic, Sonic Chronicles would be out by now. And it'd have Mighty in it. Yeah…

888

Chaos energy.

It didn't take a large explanation to make anyone aware that this substance in itself was special. It also didn't cause anyone to question how much power it contained, nor of its potential. What many people understood upon hearing those words was enough.

They understood that it was powerful. Unique in many ways.

They understood that it was somehow superior to them, that it had seen, felt and heard more than any of them could hope for in a lifetime. In fact, the miniscule amount of Mobians who had first laid eyes on the energy, and the mystical artefacts that housed it felt, simply put – humbled. Overwhelmed, crushed, honoured – many different ways.

But overall, inferior.

Robotnik had started out like this. Knowing, somehow, that the energy was powerful. Knowing it was special, just by _looking _at the stuff. He'd understood the immense forces it contained, and could only dream about its full potential – what it could fully unleash.

Yet he was far more assertive than those who'd first laid eyes upon the mysterious substance. Those who had been revealed the power for the first time had been courteous enough to avoid, or simply, too afraid to lay hands upon it. The few eyes that had been laid on the energy's suppressed forms had never dared to touch the mysterious element, out of fear, or out of respect.

Dr Ivo Robotnik had been the very first, the very, _very_ first out of the civilians of Green Hill Zone, to allow curiosity to get the better of him.

Anyone, especially the scientist, was well aware of the power it housed.

But they had no idea at all _whatsoever_ of its ability. Its raw energy, its untameable substances within…

… what _miraculous _powers it contained.

888

Sonic's jade eyes remained fixed on the scientist, as he investigated Robotnik's actions, from over his hunched shoulder. He traced after the fingers that typed repetitively over the keyboard, punching in combinations, setting up programs, deactivating, reactivating, the works…

The hedgehog's gaze switched up to the screen that loomed over them, producing a soft, eerie glow over the keyboard, mirrored by Robotnik's spectacles. Lines of data raced down at immense speeds before him, numbers, words, symbols – everything all jumbled up…

Sonic gave a small, impatient sigh.

He still didn't have much of a care for reading – moreover, he hardly knew _how_. Yet he could only pick out distinctive words, all jumbled up together – yet hardly making sense. It wasn't that he wanted to test these limited skills out – he just wanted a good idea of what the Doc was up to, exactly…

Suddenly, large red letters lit up upon the gently-hued screen, causing the hedgehog to flinch back, slightly.

SYSTEM SHUTDOWN 

"…What's goin' on, Doc?" Sonic asked, a little shaken from the presence of the bold flashing letters. However, Robotnik simply looked relieved, leaning back from the controls and slumping back into his chair, eyes still fixed upon the screen before them. The hue was starting to flicker rather violently, the screen distorting and twisting, as separate pixels deactivated.

Then, in one lurch and another twist, the screen warped out, and darkness enveloped the two.

Sonic blinked abruptly, faced with pitch-blackness. But naturally being nocturnal, his senses began to adjust and sharpen to the world around him – yet he knew little enough to be able to move around.

"Can you see, Sonic?" The scientist spoke to him for the first time since drumming away on the computer, and after blinking a few more times, the hedgehog could make out Robotnik's features in the dark.

"Yeah…" He replied, before glancing around, his jade eyes scanning the area in confusion. "What'd you do _that _for, Doc?"

A heavy sigh sounded from his right, and the hedgehog turned back to Robotnik, who was steadily rising from his chair, hands grasping at nearby objects, namely the chair and keyboard, to guide him. It was obvious that the human's eyesight lacked nocturnal vision, and the hedgehog stepped forward, concerned.

"My main experiment has always proved troublesome to my machines." The scientist continued to speak as if the loss of sight was of little concern. "Especially the way my subjects have been acting as of recent…"

"…'Subjects?'" Sonic asked, as the scientist knelt down on the floor, feeling against the metal compartments that served as the keyboard's elevation. "Like a 'royal subject?'"

Robotnik remained silent, yet the hedgehog spied what appeared to be a wry smile at his question. Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for, and yanked a metal drawer open, before he felt around inside.

A bright light flashed before Sonic, and he flinched in surprise, before realising that the scientist had uncovered a torch from the compartment's depths. Standing up once more, Robotnik turned to Sonic, a weary smile on his features – though his voice appeared to portray otherwise.

"Well… shall we?"

The machines that had always hummed or beeped in the hedgehog's presence as long as he'd lived in the dome, had now gone deathly silent. The flickering lights and buttons that had even kept nights alight had also faded into the blackness. In stark contrast to its previous state, the laboratory was completely silent.

Sonic glanced, to and fro – what would usually be fear creeping up in his insides replaced by curiosity. _This _was new…

He'd fallen into stride behind Robotnik, whose flashlight had swept back and forth throughout his maze of machines. It eventually managed to settle on his workspace – the steel, accessorised table that he and Sonic had been sitting at no more than twenty or so minutes ago. Making his way up to the table with the hedgehog in tow, the scientist settled the flashlight down upon its edge, before sitting down at the desk.

Sonic hopped back up on his stool, as he watched Robotnik reach over to one of the steel plates that had been nailed into the table due to damage. His eyes widened when he saw that this wasn't really its function at all – it slid open neatly and easily.

Spilling out from that _one_ small compartment was something that was _burned_ into the hedgehog's mind from that day forth.

_Light._

Light of a scarlet red, and a cobalt blue peeked out through the opening cabinet, before spilling forth and illuminating the entire room in a burst of eerie colour. The blackness of the room was entirely eliminated – yet Sonic did not turn to acknowledge the happenings of his surroundings.

He did not move at all.

The young Mobian's breath seemed to be caught in this throat, as he leaned forward, his eyes fixed upon the sources of light. Here, a new feeling came over him – an overwhelming surge of emotion suddenly seemed to sweep through his whole body.

Yet… he couldn't seem to express it at all. His face remained frozen in the same shocked expression. Both his hands had been planted on the steel table, supporting his body as he leant forth, receiving a better view of what lay inside.

He recognised one almost instantly – the exact same, red gem that had landed inches away from him almost two years ago. The scarlet was deep and wild, piercing through the darkness and threatening to overcome the serene, yet sharp cobalt blue that emanated from its right.

The _blue_ gem, however, Sonic had never seen before. It looked every bit as… _amazing _as its counterpart. It brimmed with an untamed light, even more so than that of the red gem.

The hedgehog's fingers began to slowly grip upon the surface of the steel table, his brown quills standing up on end. His throat had suddenly become very dry, as his awed jade eyes remained fixed on the two mysterious gems.

He… he was _afraid_.

No… no he wasn't. He was… _amazed…_

No… _excited… _

_Unworthy… _

_Scared… _

_**Honoured**__…_

"Sonic…?"

The hedgehog realised he'd been holding his breath for almost thirty seconds. His small body suddenly relaxed, slumping back down into his stool, releasing his breath as he did so. Yet his eyes remained fixed upon the glow of the jewels, his body still shaking, trying to withstand the initial flurry of emotions that had plagued it.

He'd never really felt this way, before. He was almost overwhelmed. Here he was, before one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen in his life, and yet… here he was, feeling like he was thrashing in the waves of the sea, again.

What… _were _these things…?

"Doc…" He croaked, his eyelids drooping. "… these things, here… what're they called…?"

He racked his brains, thinking back to the incident in which he'd first seen the red gem. He hadn't had time to focus on the jewel, back then – he'd been too alarmed to do so… What had Robotnik called it…?

"…'_Chambers?'" _His face screwed up in confusion.

A small, silent chuckle sounded from the good scientist, and he glanced over at Sonic, who was still entranced by the gems. No doubt about it – the hedgehog had fallen under the same spell _he _had. The same spell that overcame all who'd first laid eyes upon these jewels…

Inferiority.

The red light of the scarlet gem reflected in Robotnik's spectacles, as he turned back to the base of his main project… his smile betraying his excitement.

"_Chaos Emeralds, _Sonic.

These are called Chaos Emeralds."

888

_The main project, above all, would be Robotnik's own personal achievement. His pride, and joy – another breach in the unpredictable laws of science. It had taken up days, weeks months, closing in on two years of his life – eventually growing ever so steadily into an obsession of sorts. _

_Yet… he felt he knew nothing._

_Occasionally, he would be frustrated. Occasionally, he would throw down everything and walk away, regardless of how far he was, or how engaged he'd been in researching each and every hypothesis. _

_There were only few things that Robotnik knew and understood about these 'Chaos Emeralds,' – the stuff of legends, with almost unlimited power, the ability to occasionally badly influence nearby machinery with their powerful aura. Hence, many of his experiments had ended in dangerous failure._

_But regardless…_

_Robotnik already knew that these objects were unstable. He knew that they contained harsh, untamed energy. He knew that working with them was dangerous… or even suicidal, having been pushed too far. _

_He also knew… though, he had little motivation to admit it… that the Chaos energy was indeed inflicting changes on him._

_It was harming his mind… and at the same time, improving it._

_Robotnik's knowledge had expanded. Unfinished contraptions that had lay around his lab were now complete. Thousands of technical questions that had swarmed about his head had been answered. He __**knew. **__He __**knew **__these things, almost instantly. There was barely a time when he'd needed to pause in his thinking, anymore – the answer - logically speaking – was there. _

_But yet… once more, the Chaos Emeralds remained a mystery to him. He didn't know __**exactly**__ how much power they contained. He didn't know __**exactly**__ what their potential was. And whilst the older mysteries that had surrounded him prior to finding the emeralds had faded into realization, the Chaos Emeralds grew further and further shrouded in mystery, eluding every single hypothesis he made._

_It had frustrated him._

_And when he was frustrated, he knew that he was no good around his inventions – often, he'd wind up doing a side-project – just to get his mind off them. They proved little success, as his obsession with the emeralds had begun to grow to the point where he'd spent his spare time further theorising about them. _

_But during the time performing side projects __**did **__work, his mind sometimes drifted to his permanent guest within his laboratory – Sonic the Hedgehog._

_Sometimes, he'd felt slight guilt. He hardly recalled talking to the young Mobian at all, as of recent. But there were other times in which he'd be cursing the hedgehog, blaming failures in his main project on __**him. **__But whatever mindset he was in, his mind seemed to become overtaken once more by a scientist's curiosity. _

_Sonic the Hedgehog was no ordinary Mobian. He could run like the wind – and for once, Robotnik had no idea how or why. But the 'how' and 'why' factors didn't particularly matter to the scientist – he simply wondered what this hedgehog's potential was. How fast could he run? Had his speed improved since he last saw him? What velocity could he reach?_

_Could he break the sound barrier? Could he defy all logic and __**do **__it? _

_Robotnik had no idea…_

…_but he wanted to be certain, instead._

_Theories and past hypothesises flowed throughout his steadily expanding mind. He would measure Sonic's speed. It would prove to be a good distraction as any from his main project – his curiosity to know the hedgehog's potential wasn't nearly as strong to rival that of the Chaos Emeralds – but he knew his mind was strained. Regardless of his own ability and ambition, he knew when enough was enough._

_It still __**bugged **__him, though. __**So **__badly…_

888

"Chaos Emeralds…?"

Robotnik shifted out of his thoughts to look back down at the hedgehog, who had finally managed to tear his gaze away from the two mysterious gems. He still appeared a little shaken though – such a sight couldn't be forgotten almost instantly.

The Doctor gave a smile.

"Mysterious artefacts." He recited, his eyes drawn back to them in fascination, once more. "The stuff of legends – said to hold _limitless_ power. Or so they say…" He added, a crease appearing upon his brow as a result of deep thought. "My sources have been from written evidence of an archaeological manner – and even those seem to date almost an entire _millennium _back in time…"

Sonic thought hard. "A thousand years." He recited, quietly, earning an approving look from the scientist.

"…My grandfather had dabbled slightly with this energy, himself." Robotnik continued. "He uncovered a few of the emeralds almost sixty years ago, and wrote up his findings within his old records – but they were discarded after…" The scientist reeled, realizing he was heading into unsteady territory. "…well, an _accident."_

Sonic tilted his head to the side. "What happened?"

"…Never mind, it's nothing important." Robotnik mumbled, curtly. "It was a big enough accident to result in that data's loss, save a special few pages…" His eyes narrowed in thought behind his spectacles. "…that was the only lead I received for this experiment."

The hedgehog crossed his arms, his expression taking on one of rare thought, his features scrunched.

"So… your big secret is _this?"_

Robotnik couldn't help but give a small, somewhat begrudged smile. Though it had been apparent that Sonic had understood the power the Chaos Emeralds contained – it was also apparent that he found the entire concept incomprehensible. This idea – this new idea of having limitless power – for machinery, and mankind alike – was too complex for a typical Mobian hedgehog.

Regardless, he turned back to Sonic, his expression melting into one of complete seriousness.

"To find out their _potential._" He stated, his voice soft. "To find out _exactly _what they are capable of…" His hands slowly began to rise to either side of his body, palms facing upwards. "…to discover what unlimited wonders they can perform…" His long, skinny fingers began to curl up, trembling slightly as they did so.

Both his arms suddenly dropped to the sides, and the scientist seemed to snap out of his mystified and passionate trance, glancing back down at Sonic with a stony expression.

"_That_ is what I am working on."

The hedgehog's thoughtful complexion dissolved almost instantly, as his mind began to race up again, almost instantly.

"What can ya do with 'em, Doc?"

The scientist hesitated, briefly. "That's the problem, Sonic…"

The young Mobian frowned, confusion swirling within his eyes – and also having the look of an impatient runner who'd just hit a brick wall.

"… I can't find a way to do so…" He said, slowly. "If they really _are _infinite in power… it'd be a scientific _breakthrough_…" the doctor added, his voice for the last part of the sentence not quite as level as the rest.

Sonic blinked. "…Doc?"

"They keep eluding me… I do all these tests, and…" Robotnik shook his head. "No matter what I do, my machines can't handle their power. You remember that explosion back two years ago, don't you? That was my very first attempt at harnessing their power…"

The hedgehog tensed, all of a sudden. Slowly, he turned to the glowing Chaos Emeralds, still bathing the entire room with the ferocious scarlet and the calming blue.

_Two years ago… huh…?_

Sonic turned back to the scientist, whose expression had softened upon seeing the hedgehog's shift in his façade.

"Hey… Doc? I was kinda wondering…"

He lolled the thought about his head for a few seconds, before finally voicing it out loud.

"…you think the Chaos Emeralds have somethin' to do with you acting… well, _weird _'n all-"

"_We're getting off-topic_." Robotnik suddenly said, firmly. Sonic withdrew slightly, from being cut off. Impatience struggled within his mind almost instantly – the whole purpose of finding out what was wrong with the scientist was the only reason he'd gone along with this in the first place, and he didn't want to lose the initial purpose _now…_

…but considering that the Doc had been acting like _himself _for the past hour or so, the young Mobian wasn't in any mood to argue with him. So instead, he gave a quick nod.

"… Recently, I've been working on a test." Robotnik continued, as soon as he was certain the suspicious thought hovered in the hedgehog's mind no longer. "I've developed a new kind of alloy – made up of metals of which have shown resistance towards Chaos Energy."

The Mobian nodded, slightly, though his eyes gave way to blank confusion. Sighing, the scientist explained. "Metals that Chaos Energy doesn't affect very much."

"…Which means your machines won't go crazy…?" The hedgehog asked.

"I'm hoping that, Sonic." Robotnik said, adjusting his spectacles slightly. "If I can create a machine with _resistance_ to Chaos Energy… I could measure its exact potential, and see what it is capable of…" He pondered, his gaze astray from the Emeralds for a rare time. "If it _is _possible… I could probably even _harness it…_"

He stopped up in his thoughts once more, when he realized the hedgehog was giving him another blank look. The scientist decided to spare the explanations, and instead, gave a glance back to the Chaos Emeralds.

"Sonic."

With a sigh, he knelt down to face the young Mobian directly, which earned him the young Mobian's undivided attention.

"… I have a hypothesis that I'm willing to test out." He said, simply. "And it involves _your_ help."

The hedgehog blinked, his jade eyes wide. He hadn't been expecting this.

"_Me? _Doc, in case you hadn't been noticing, I haven't understood half of what you just said… with your science talk 'n stuff…"

Sonic shook his head, though the thought of actually being a part of Robotnik's experiments seemed thrilling. If there was anything he could do for him, even helping out with passing tools and the like, as he'd done so before in earlier days when he was too weak to go outside…

Still –

"…what could _I _do?"

A wry smile had appeared on the doctor's face, and he stood up from his crouched position.

"This experiment tests out two hypothesises." He corrected himself. "One is based on how stable my new alloy will be for the Chaos Emeralds. And it might risk _another _explosion if I expose them to working machinery, once more…"

"- It'd still be okay, right? You can fix 'em like you did, before, Doc." Sonic countered abruptly, determined not to let this opportunity pass him by. The scientist turned away at his comment. Disheartened at first, the hedgehog could hear soft chuckling from Robotnik's trembling frame.

"My second hypothesis to be tested in this experiment is something that's been bothering me since you first started walking around my laboratory."

Sonic raised an eye ridge, his head tilting to one side.

"…But, you didn't answer my question, Doc." He reminded the scientist impatiently. "What am I gonna do to help you?"

Robotnik crossed his arms, his gaze tracing over the Chaos energy-lit laboratory, his machines still and silent, as before. Yet his eyes fixed upon one particular machine that sat no more than a few metres away from the steel working table that housed his precious subjects. In the bright red light that illuminated half the entire dome, a few of the circular contraption's compartments were still open, delicate machinery and tools peering out of the curved metal shelling.

A smile appeared on Robotnik's features.

"All _you _have to do, Sonic, is _run."_

888

The hedgehog's jade eyes were squinted, and he rubbed them several times once more to rid them of this state. It didn't help – the newly reactivated light still stung them, and his nocturnal instincts refused to lessen up so easily. Regardless of the small dilemma, he was relaxed, his arms hanging limply to either side. However, his legs were more thoughtfully positioned – one foot slightly in front and the other behind him.

Sonic glanced upwards, his vision obstructed by the machine he stood within. Robotnik had unveiled it moments before, and at a first glance, the young Mobian hadn't a clue of what it actually was – yet upon the explanation, he'd dashed directly inside the 'oversized ring' – like machine in less than a second.

It was something called a 'treadmill.' A kind of machine that could let someone run all they wanted in one spot… though at a second thought, the hedgehog found himself preferring the outdoor space rather than being confined in one area at a time – it killed the fun for him, somewhat…

The hedgehog shifted his balance back and forth between his feet, causing the inner 'ring' path to slide forward, slightly. With a small yelp at the unexpected movement, Sonic threw out his back foot before him, trying to steady himself on the 'u-shaped' curved surface, though this only succeeded in causing the treadmill to continue turning. He walked inside the contraption, albeit unsteadily, but at the same time, trying to practise on his balancing.

Robotnik watched the scene from a few metres away, tweaking at a small monitor connected to the 'treadmill' via a series of multicoloured wires. Such machinery seemed rather simplistic, to any scientific mind, though one knew that this was indeed not the case. The doctor himself had created every single fragment of this experiment from scratch – out of the new alloy he'd created. Even the conductors within the wires themselves had been modified to withstand Chaos energy.

Quietly, he made the final adjustment within the connection between the two machines – and the monitor flickered to life. On its display glowed two green digits – 57 – accompanied by the basic 'mph' sign.

Satisfied that the machinery seemed to be working without any concerns, Robotnik walked back over to his steel worktable, sliding open the metal compartment once more.

A glance to his set experiment revealed the monitor image warping violently onscreen for a few seconds – but he let out a sigh of relief when it settled back to its original state.

He tensed up again when he heard a small "umph!" from the treadmill itself, only to see that Sonic had fallen forward as the machine had suddenly activated a 'brake' mechanism in response to the sudden surge of energy that hit its sensors. However, as soon as the hedgehog had fallen onto the curved surface, the brake unlocked, causing the young Mobian to swing back and forth upon the treadmill, his jade eyes slightly dazed from the impact.

Robotnik relaxed, once more. It was just an initial shock to the machinery – nothing more. Even with the presence of the cobalt blue Chaos Emerald he held within his hand, both machines seemed to be functioning perfectly…

But the mere presence of the object wouldn't determine it as such.

As Sonic stood up, recovered from his fall, the scientist approached the machine rather hesitantly. He leant towards the frontal area of the treadmill (Sonic leaning sideways in order to see what the doctor was up to) and slid open a glass compartment situated upon its surface.

With a deep breath, he placed the Chaos Emerald inside.

The machine responded, the lighting and mechanisms dwelling within it humming with the sudden surge of energy they had received. The hedgehog glanced around the contraption from within, his eyes wide in wonder.

He glanced back to Robotnik, who had already retreated behind the set monitor, his eyes peering with fierce determination through his spectacles, yet one could read the nervous energy radiating from him.

Sonic took in a deep breath, himself. The Chaos Emerald, he recalled from the doctor's explanation, was powering this machine. The machine was made from an alloy that could somehow resist the influence of Chaos energy. Through all this, he remembered, was another purpose to the whole thing – finding out exactly _how _fast he could run…

The hedgehog pressed his lips together.

He was unnerved, being honest with himself. The Doc had worked on several experiments using Chaos Energy for almost two years, now… and still, he hadn't gained much results. Sonic wasn't sure if this experiment would be any different – and on top of that, he was right in the middle of it…

Sonic shook his head, trying to overcome the sudden wash of doubt that had flooded his thoughts. No. He had to do this. He wanted to keep up Doc's 'good side' for as long as he possibly could… and through this, he wanted to find out what exactly was making Robotnik act so strange… (as well as a personal curiosity of how fast he could actually run…)

He was pretty certain it could have been the Chaos Emeralds… but now he wasn't so sure. Sonic himself hadn't exactly become as unstable as the scientist – yet he _had _felt strange…

His ears perked up, slightly.

Sonic had to find out, somehow. His curiosity had been bugging him for way too long.

And if being in an unstable experiment was the only way for him to find out…

The hedgehog glanced back to Robotnik, who had finished up on the final touches of preparation, and was now giving a small nod back over to him. Sonic glanced back forward, inwardly shrugging to himself as he began to break into a run within the contraption.

…_Oh, well._

888

Yup, yup, had a delay… major apologies.

I can only say that the next one'll come soon. SoonER. Don't know how soon, but sooner than last time. XD

Thanks for reading – and please review, actually. I think I need some feedback.

NettikGirl


	7. Sonic Boom

It was almost too unbearable to watch

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA. Otherwise I would not have anything closely resembling a life.

888

It was almost too unbearable to watch.

And yet he continued to do so. He kept watching, kept anticipating, kept staring, and never once did his gaze flicker. He had to see this. He _had _to, and never once did he doubt this fact. This experiment was playing out perfectly – all the questions he'd had brewing within his mind were to be answered, all the things he'd tried to discover over the course of two years were now coming to light…

The display flickered once more, warping the steadily increasing digits as they continued to surge upwards, finally placing structure to the unnatural speed that they measured.

260…287…300…

…and his subject was showing no signs of tiring. His feet had become a blur only moments ago, a transparent, light blue streak that aligned itself almost perfectly with the treadmill upon which they dashed. There was no flicker in the hedgehog's façade – only stony determination – as he bowed his head down further, intent on going faster.

He knew what was functioning correctly – he knew that his goals would soon be achieved. By these simple observations, he _knew _it…

…everything was working as planned, everything was surging further than any of his experiments had ever done so in the past. Prior to this – prior to the constant use of the Chaos Emeralds – he never would have come this far. He was three minutes into the risky experiment, and nothing had gone wrong. Nothing plotted to turn against him, and his source of energy had remained stable throughout the process.

…_But –_

It was close. It would take some time to come to fruition, but he was close. So very close –

_- but what if -?!_

- the scientist visibly gave a cringe, trying to suppress the impulsive thought that had suddenly surfaced within his mind. The experiment was flowing perfectly, there was no malfunction within the machinery thus far. There was no reason to panic, no reason to stop. No reason to wait any longer.

He _had _to know. He _had _to discover all this, no matter what. Robotnik had waited long enough. He had worked hard, and sacrificed enough. It was his right to know what would follow. It was _his _right_. His _own.

So his pale blue orbs continued to peer through their spectacles, reflecting the green glow of the monitor. He shivered in anticipation, though he knew he had to keep focus – he couldn't let all his hard work go to waste. He'd awaited his machine's completion, and the experiment itself was not done, yet – if he were just a little more patient…

The scientists' mouth automatically opened slightly, to encourage the hedgehog to continue, to commend his efforts as the speed displayed on the digits steadily increased –

- and then it shut, once more.

Robotnik's focus remained stubbornly upon the monitor. He never once looked over to Sonic, nor the machine that the Mobian ran within. He simply focused on the experiment and its results, never even daring to check how his subject was faring.

The scientist's eyes burned under the increased focus upon the screen, as the digits suddenly encountered a slight surge.

_321…380…439…_

Part of Robotnik believed that the significance of the experiment had exceeded that of the Mobian. Another part of him inferred that he trusted Sonic enough to remain focused on gathering data.

But altogether – he simply knew.

He could bear to watch the Mobian no longer.

888

Sonic's feet pummelled the metallic rotating surface upon which he ran, his head bowed forth in an effort to keep balance, though his legs were speeding up to the point in which it was becoming incredibly difficult to keep coordination. His jade eyes glimmered with determination, as he planted his full focus forward – everything around him, even the machinery, the beeping monitor, and the Doc, seemed to whip out of existence.

Heaving in a breath, Sonic kept his arms out behind him, though the usual forces that would affect him at this velocity never seemed to come into play – there was no wind to keep his arms thrown back. Yet he held them in this (somewhat uncomfortable) position – if he tried swinging them with his increasingly speeding legs, he knew he'd never come close to his fastest run.

Suddenly, he found he was focusing more on balance, rather than the actual coordination of his feet. His legs were simply motoring away, without a second thought, almost without his consent – as if they were running on his own.

Sonic kept his focus on balance. Looking down, he realized that his legs had become an indistinctive blur above the metal, his light blue shoes blending in with the metallic grey surface of the treadmill.

And as soon as he'd placed his focus back on his legs, an alarm went off in the back of his head – and his mind switched targets.

The movement on his legs was… well, _automatic. _Like an instinct. He didn't need to actually _need _to focus on his legs – or else his mind started panicking, realizing that it couldn't keep track of the two appendages, any longer. And suddenly, it would try to maintain control of his feet –

- and he knew where that would lead him. His legs would slow abruptly and his body would come crashing down. It had happened to him before – once the thought of where his legs actually _were_ passed his mind in the midst of running, they'd cramp up abruptly, and cause the hedgehog to collapse.

So Sonic simply decided to keep that instinct going. He'd trusted it all the time, ever since he started running at high speeds – why did he need to stop now? Everything instinctive, or everything technical that had always contributed to his running – everything that had he'd learned, to help him go _faster_ – came into play.

And suddenly, his initial goals of being a part of the scientist's experiments seemed flung out of the window, as an all-too-familiar one came to mind.

Bowing his head even further, so that it was level to his tail, his legs began to power up again at an alarming speed. He realized that a chance to beat his personal best had presented itself on a silver platter. Even without the wind keeping his arms behind him as he dashed through the fields – in this machine, there was no resistance keeping him from going as fast as he could.

There was _nothing._

A smirk appeared upon his features. There were no boundaries, now. There was nothing to stop him.

He was going to go as fast as he possibly could, no matter what.

888

Robotnik's excitement soared, as his mind recorded more and more of what he formerly thought was impossible – even under this strain – even when the machine housed a creature that was well on its way to hitting 500 kilometres an hour – the machine still functioned. With the usually unstable Chaos Energy as a power source, it was still running smoothly, hardly a glitch in sight.

A slowly spreading grin managed to appear beneath his orange, bushy moustache, and his eyes narrowed onto the statistics. The stability of his contraption had exceeded his expectations by the hundreds – and he saw no need to cease the experiment, now.

Not until Sonic –

(A wince appeared on his features for a brief moment.)

- not until that hedgehog would begin to tire. As far as he was concerned, his invention would maintain its current status. And the Mobian had also cleared his previous expectations in terms of speed… Everything was perfect…

Everything was –

A sudden flash of red caught his eye, and his focus slipped out of his rolling thoughts and back into the beeping monitor. Whilst he noted that the digits were still steadily increasing, he also spotted the source of red. It was a small, blinking, scarlet dot of light that hardly made itself visible on the machine, but its contrast gave away its existence instantly.

Despite its inferior appearance, the scientist could almost feel a sudden blow to his growing ego.

The light was an alarm. The machine was starting to encounter strain, regardless of the precautions taken beforehand.

The scientist gritted his teeth in frustration, but knew that now was not the time to lose his composure. He'd developed the alloy himself, the metal that he was almost certain would house and contain the Chaos Energy. And through these conditions, it had succeeded – so why was it stopping? Did his alloy lessen in resistance over time? Did he only have five minutes to bring out the energy's potential, before the machine started encountering problems? Had he made a mistake?

It was here when the scientist finally brought himself to look over at his test subject. The young Mobian hedgehog had not let up in stride at all, and he only seemed to be going faster. Yet, peering closer at Sonic, Robotnik noted something that he had never seen in the hedgehog's demeanour, before.

He _himself _also looked strained.

Though he wasn't stopping, nor was he slowing, a few beads of sweat were forming on the Mobian's forehead. His eyes had narrowed, and his mouth was now slightly open, drawing in short, quick gasps. Overall, in contrast to the usual state of euphoria Robotnik had seen in him, spying through on of his circular windows as the hedgehog rocketed through the plains, he saw determination. Nothing more, and nothing less.

The scientist stared for a few brief moments, before he turned his attention back to the monitor.

There was little wonder for Sonic's unusual and newfound fatigue.

The digits '_674_' were flashing onscreen, and they were slowly crawling upwards…

888

It had started with a small black dot growing visible out of the corner of his eye. Sonic didn't quite know what this new feeling was, nor did he really understand what was going on. As soon as the outside world around him had been lost to him, something strange had been happening to his body…

… he didn't know how to describe it. All he could come up with to compare was the time when he'd met Ray and Mighty. When the armadillo had accidentally run into him in a defensive, curled-up position, when he'd been… _windund? _

Sonic shook his head abruptly.

_Winded. _He'd been winded, and after that, he hadn't been able to breathe properly at all, until he sat down and caught his breath.

Except that wasn't happening to him right now… true, he didn't feel _exactly_ as bad as he did back then, but he couldn't say that he was breathing properly right now, either. His small heart was beating furiously within his chest, the pounding actually somewhat visible beneath his tan fur. Suddenly, it just felt like his body was getting heavier – like his legs were getting harder to move…

Sonic thought hard, though he continued to run, determined to go just about as fast as he could – then again, he didn't feel as if he'd run _this _fast, before…

Another thought came to him. He remembered when Mighty had challenged him to a race… a victory that was snatched quite easily, but not exactly fully gained when the armadillo collapsed.

His jade eyes narrowed.

That's right… Mighty had collapsed from running too hard. Before that day, he'd never heard of someone collapsing or tiring from running, before…

Could that be what was happening to him? Was he…

Sonic's eyes grew wide.

Was he really going _too _fast?

The thought lingered for a few moments. Then, as soon as he'd mulled it over a little, it was banished to the depths of his mind.

The hedgehog knew that _some _people, like Mighty, were prone to collapsing out of exhaustion. Sonic, having run all of his life without ever doing such a thing, didn't know his limit at all. He didn't really acknowledge whether or not he _had _a limit…

But as far as he was concerned, he was unique. So he saw a few black dots out of the corner of his eye, _big deal_. He wasn't about to stop now – especially since he knew with all his heart that he could go even faster than this. Sonic could feel that. His body was tired, but not useless. Not out for the count – especially if it was running faster and faster, little by little.

He wasn't stopping now. He was never going to stop…

All sense of reason left Sonic's mind.

He would _never _stop…

888

Robotnik's eyes screamed at him to avert them someplace else, but he could not stop staring between the hedgehog and the monitor. The small, blinking alarm still protested against the strain, yet the scientist did nothing to comply with its demands. Regardless… he reluctantly acknowledged that something had to be done.

He'd accepted, very grudgingly, that his machinery would not be able to withstand Sonic's speed for much longer. His design and materials were not flawed in the least – within a certain strain, he could indeed harness Chaos Energy. He _could _do what he had formerly deemed as impossible…

… he had achieved the very goal he'd set out to achieve since the moment he'd laid eyes upon the Chaos Emeralds.

The two, lengthly years that he'd spent, trapping himself within his dome laboratory, shutting out the sun, the stars, even shutting out the Mobian he'd taken in…

… it had all come to fruition.

Yet…

His eyes closed.

…only now, he could not express the excitement and pride that he'd hoped to show.

Robotnik's eyes reopened and peered through his spectacles at the contraption that was now functioning through instability. Sonic probably had no idea how much danger he was in, if the machine gave way to the stress of the Chaos energy.

If he didn't stop running soon –

The scientist's mind raced. It would only be for a brief instant, he knew. But the energy that had been built up until now would be released – and he wasn't quite sure what would happen from there. Judging by his previous attempts, he understood that the results would be very destructive indeed – and the hedgehog would be right at ground zero.

Robotnik glanced over at the monitor. It would be hazardous to pull the brake manually – he had a feeling that contact with the Chaos Emerald compartment (close to which the brake was situated) would not bode well at all. But he was aware of another gimmick he had installed within the machine.

The monitor that was linked up to the contraption had a purpose other than recording the speed. Should the wiring have been disconnected, it would be pointless to continue surveying velocity.

The disconnection would result in an immediate break mechanism.

Sonic would probably be hurt at the rate he was going at in any case. The worst-case scenario would be a few broken bones if he collided into metal. Or, he would keep running at a high speed pace and perform a few loop-de-loops within the contraption before stopping…

Either way, it was a preferable outcome in comparison to utter disaster.

Glancing at the Mobian one final time, Robotnik moved in to disconnect the monitor from the treadmill.

As soon as his eyes fell back onto the climbing digits, however, he froze.

_**731…**_

_**738…**_

_**742…**_

A tightness spread within his chest, and he swallowed, his mouth suddenly very dry.

_So close…_

An outcome he had previously thought as ridiculous upon first meeting the hedgehog was coming true before his very eyes. His second pressing question rose to take over his mind.

He already knew how to withstand Chaos energy.

What he _wanted _to know was whether Sonic the Hedgehog could break the sound barrier. He wanted to know whether this Mobian could live up to his name.

His fingers hovered above the wiring that joined the monitor and the machine.

They trembled.

They made an indecisive decision to move in closer to the wiring.

And then, finally…

…they withdrew.

He was close. _So _close. His desire to quench his curiosity… to _know _what would come, to _know _what would happen…

It was overwhelming.

He'd come this far. Robotnik had progressed this much, after so long. The machine was here. The Mobian was here. The statistics were here. The impossible was coming, despite every single theory and inference he'd made in the past.

Was he going to erase this picture?

After all that?

Slowly, obedient to his mind, his hand lowered to his side. His gaze remained fixed on the monitor, his frame trembling in fear, awe and excitement.

_No._

All thoughts for the hedgehog's safety trickled out of his mind.

He wasn't stopping now. He was never going to stop…

All sense of reason left the doctor's mind.

He would _never_ stop…

888

There was no more logical thinking in the room. Two minds were completely blank, only focused on the moment. They didn't know what was about to happen. They both already knew that ceasing their activity would bring them back the way they came. They would be trapped.

Sonic pushed himself to run faster than he'd ever gone, despite a sudden throbbing pain growing in his side. And Robotnik was on the brink of shouting in anticipation, yet shaky, controlled breaths restrained this action as he continued to watch the rising digits.

The blue Chaos Emerald within the compartment seemed to suddenly respond to this tension. Though its energy had been building up as the machine continuously exploited it, it had not quite expressed its disdain, nor its excess power… It had endured, and endured…

… until now.

The hedgehog's jade eyes widened in one instant as a sudden rumble seemed to reverberate around him.

The Chaos Emerald responded with a defiant flash of light.

The digits _**'761' **_flashed upon the monitor for one brief moment.

And then, a shockwave exploded outwards from the machinery, unable to maintain the unstable energy any longer…

888

There was an eerie silence.

All around the laboratory, shadows shrouded each and every machine. The rays of morn peered through the windows, illuminating the darkened room, ever so slightly. Jagged shadows cast themselves on the cold, steel walls, reflecting the light every so often.

The light also revealed other certain obscurities.

Shrapnel, gears, wires, scorched fragments of metal carpeted the floor. Debris leant against melted walls and steel. Robotnik's worktable had been hurled off its legs, allowing the red Chaos Emerald to tumble out of its secret compartment.

From beneath a sheet of metal, the scientist stirred. One eye opened to realize that one of the lenses within his spectacles had been shattered, and the other was almost impossible to see through due to scorch marks. Regardless, he slowly heaved the metal off his machine body, before slowly sitting up with a small groan, removing his glasses as he did so. Still very much in a daze, Robotnik rubbed away the scorches with the sleeve of his torn lab coat and replaced his glasses once more.

He stared blankly, before the events of the previous night came soaring back to him.

From behind his glasses, his eyes grew wide.

They surveyed the damage, the scientist forcing himself to rise on shaken legs. The treadmill was_ gone… _or simply, it had been damaged beyond recognition. The general vicinity had also been affected – neighbouring machinery had been scorched and torn from the shockwave.

He slowly glanced over his shoulder, partially dreading an imagined sight, and relaxed when he noticed that his more valuable machinery and inventions – the main computer, included – had not been touched.

It was here when Robotnik's eyes fell upon a small, red glow upon the steel floor, amongst the shrapnel.

It was almost instinctive – he lunged towards it, grasping the gem within his clawing fingers as he did so. His breathing had grown shaky, as he thoroughly examined the jewel, checking for any scratches, any shards missing – anything that meant anything other than the Emerald's wellbeing.

He found none, and his shoulders relaxed.

Then, they trembled.

And shook.

Chuckling began to tense his body, rising up from his lungs, yet his bowed head seemed to keep it contained. Restrained, almost hesitant to bring it forth - but bventually, he could contain it no longer and threw back his head, letting the laughter echo throughout the air, ricocheting off walls. It was uncontained, uncontrollable… and it felt _so _good…

He'd done it.

He'd _done it!_

He had mastered the use of Chaos Energy! He knew how to contain it – how to use it as a seemingly infinite power source! He had surpassed his grandfather, he had done the impossible! When he returned home, he would become an idol, a hero, a leader! Everyone would appreciate him, everyone would come to look to him in times of disaster – for he would be their…

_Wait…_

Their…

_Wait… just one moment…_

The seemingly maniacal grin upon Robotnik's expression appeared to deteriorate slightly, as a voice within him – as silent as ever, beneath his overcoming desires – rose up into his mind. Though the concern they contained did not quite ring true to him at that moment, the scientist began to frown.

Had he forgotten something?

The red Chaos Emerald was here, unharmed… As would most likely be the blue Chaos Emerald – its compartment would have shielded it somewhat, being made out of one of the most durable alloy he could offer… This section of his laboratory had been decimated, but he was confident that he would be able to fix it up in no time at all…

So why was he so…?

_**S-**_

Something that his mind had been attempting to suppress suddenly seemed to come through into his thoughts, and he froze.

The red Chaos Emerald clattered to the floor and he stood, turning abruptly to face the ruined contraption. A small, blue gleam teased him from beneath a piece of shrapnel, but his gaze searched elsewhere.

Finally, it landed on a small figure, sitting up against one of the scorched, steel walls. His head was drooped forth; arms limp to either side, palms facing upwards and fingers curled, limp and lifeless. The gloves that once covered these were tattered and burned, and the light-blue shoes that once covered his feet were torn beyond repair.

Robotnik neared the figure, realizing that his breathing had altogether become extremely shallow, as the young Mobian's state become painfully clearer to him the closer he got.

There were burns on his fur, his quills were tattered and unkempt, moreso than usual… Apart from the side facing him… There were a visible amount of slashes upon his arm and upper body, yet done of these looked quite deep. He had probably been going too fast of a velocity for the shrapnel to seriously harm him…

Though he couldn't say the same about the impact of the explosion…

Robotnik was yanked from his thoughts as the hedgehog suddenly tensed, hands curling into fists for a brief moment, before relaxing once more. Another spasm occurred within his body, enough to raise him back into a small consciousness, his reopening jade eyes bleary and dazed, no longer holding the spark of determination maintained all through the experiment.

The scientist slowed to a stop, right next to the exhausted Sonic.

And flinched, slightly, as the young Mobian tensed up, eyes growing shut in strain. Crackling lines of blue electricity traced his body, pricking his brown fur, illuminating it…

Robotnik blinked.

He hadn't noticed it, before… but now it was as clear as day.

A blue line of energy was slowly, but surely, travelling across Sonic's fur. It seemed to cover him, consume his form, wrapping him in foreign power…

…but the occurrence had not left the hedgehog's state as it formerly was.

As the energy travelled over the brown fur, a _blue _pigmentation had been left behind. The colour inverted as a flicker, every so often, dimly concealing a golden sheen upon the unusually coloured fur. And as the energy crawled past one of the hedgehog's hazy eyes, the flicker included one of the hedgehog's own jade orbs – one had hinted at becoming a deep scarlet.

That wasn't all…

The energy, attracted to its entire self as a means of sustainability, was also affecting the hedgehog's quills. The multiple masses suddenly seemed to grow attracted to one another – and as and electric surge surrounded one, other were drawn into the unstable mass and fused into it.

Robotnik slowly sank to his knees, finally attracting the attention of the dazed and confused Mobian. His eyes flickered, slightly, then opened a little more to take in the sight of the scientist. His mouth began to open, as if to say something…

And then it closed, his teeth gritted under the surge of energy that had suddenly wracked his body. The action caused the exhaustion to finally overtake his body, and the hedgehog dropped off into an uneasy slumber.

The scientist took in a deep breath, his shaken mind managing to slowly put together the pieces, one by one.

The Chaos Energy that was released would have usually returned to its origin – the Emerald, itself. It had happened in many other of his experiments – the release of Chaos Energy always resulted in this common cycle – but perhaps the shockwave – the sonic boom that the Mobian had finally created – had blasted away the Emerald from its former position…

… in any case, the Chaos Energy had needed to grasp onto something – _anything – _to survive…

Doctor Ivo Robotnik finally allowed the conscientious truth to flow through his mind.

Because of his actions…

…Sonic had taken in a full dose of the Chaos Energy, itself.

888

Hardest chapter ever? _Ho, yeah._

I should probably stop with the "I'll update quicker" stuff, because knowing me, that don't happen often. D :

Still, the next time I update this story…

…it will be finished.

_**Promise.**_

NettikGirl


	8. Severing Ties

Disclaimer : SEGA is the rightful owner of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Okay, I suck. Looks like this'll once more take longer. I wanted to finish this here and now, but that couldn't really be the case.

On top of this, I'm in Year 12, now. I can't really dedicate much time to fanart and fanfiction. XD;

This chapter of G E N E S I S has been up on my DevArt account for a while. I was going to wait until I'd finished another chapter and do a double update, but…

This one's a bit messy. It feels strange writing OOC, though. I'll mend that with the next chapter, when I write it.

Enjoy, and thanks for your patience.

888

Quite a great deal happened, that night.

Yet very few citizens of the newly-restored Green Hill Zone witnessed what looked like a lightning storm, streaking throughout their skies in a raging fashion, scorning the peaceful stars and unsuspecting moon. Children who witnessed the event were denied by the seemingly logical adults. And the adults who saw the event either kept quiet for fear of being deemed insane, or tried out their own form of 'logic' – only to find that none of their _proper_ ways of thinking made any sense at all.

But the few civilians who'd decided to find the very cause of the mysterious events were automatically led over to a decision. Not since the great flooding had they witnessed anything so unusual…

…so in turn, they decided to find the source.

Who knew? Disasters had happened before. Disasters that had continually threatened their lives. And none of the Mobians were prepared to witness a nightmare like that again, anytime soon. So, the few who had seen the strange event gathered under the stars, and picked out the bravest and most resourceful of their small civilization (Interestingly enough, the few architects and the self-proclaimed technological minds responsible for the deformed upper Green Hill Zone kept quiet) to explore the area further to the east of their small civilization.

Now, the citizens of Green Hill Zone had hardly ventured outside of their home. In fact, very few had even _considered_ leaving their zone. The local areas, including the large green field that neighboured them, were entirely deserted, and hardly anyone had ventured further than the plateau situated at the far east…

… no one had even _seen_ the plateau since the great flooding.

There had been little reason to. Besides, those who had been attracted to it in the first place had become the very first victims of the great flooding, despite the fact that a landform could have easily defended them. Being higher ground, it seemed logical enough.

But none of the external citizens of Green Hill had survived.

No one had come home. And no one had ever been heard from, again.

Even with this feat hanging over their heads, the group of Mobians now knew better than to stay put. They knew better than to stay oblivious. Though they knew very little of the outside world, they had to start _somewhere._ And not just the stories of some old armadillo who talked too much.

So, without any more hesitation, the group ventured into the neighbouring field and into the forestation that surrounded their destination.

So intent were the leaders of the group to achieve their goal, that they paid little heed to the far younger citizens of their home who had snuck into the group. And so intent were the young citizens on finding a bit of excitement, that it had not occurred to them to flee even when the adults of the group were faced with the height of danger…

_888_

His body was still.

Most of all, his body was achingly heavy. Even the slow rise and fall of his chest was an effort, though subconscious. He simply knew for a fact that he was unable to move an inch… in stark contrast to his burst of speed that had occurred no more than a few minutes ago…

… or was it a few days? He felt so stiff, so tired… unable to open his eyelids, which bound him to this darkness. Which kept him to the unknown.

He tried to shift his small form in minor discomfort, stirring slightly – but his body never responded. He felt dead heavy, unable to budge from his still and silent spot. And he felt as if he'd remain this way… for how long, he couldn't be certain –

A spasm of pain suddenly wracked throughout his limp form, and his eyes shot open, as he heaved in a loud gasp.

So much for that assumption… He clenched his teeth, as the dullness of his pain suddenly seemed to sharpen considerably – seemingly pricking the insides of his body. His eyes shut tight, almost abruptly, as the formerly dormant energy within him began to reawaken, seemingly sizzling his insides in response…

_He'd been running…_

The young Mobian found himself slowly curling up on the spot, grasping his stomach, eyes tightly shut, shivering violently.

_He'd been running, and he… he'd… __**done**__ something…_

…_Something he'd never done before…_

It felt as if his chest was on fire… most of all, the hedgehog's insides felt like they were on _fire…_ as if something was trying to surge out of his skin… If anything, it was getting harder and harder to breathe. He heaved in another pained breath, as the strange energy within him fought against his movements, once more.

_And he'd… he'd __**done something…**__ strange… Something that… had seemed __**impossible…**__ and then…_

_**Blue.**_

_He'd seen a flash of it… when the air had rumbled around him – for a reason that he couldn't really understand. That rumble – just like thunder - __**that**__ had __**never**__ happened to him, before…_

_Then again, he'd never run that fast, before, either…_

Weary green eyes managed to flicker open, taking in the blurred grey of his surroundings. That much gathered, he realized that he must still have been within Robotnik's laboratory… but he was unable to take anything else in, or let his vision clear, any further. His eyes shut tight, once more as another spasm tensed through his form…

… He couldn't take this much longer… he was going to lose consciousness again, he _knew_ it…

Out of stubbornness, despite his weakness, he forced his eyes back open. His rapidly blurring vision managed to sharpen on occasion, and he took those small flashes to actually take in what he could of his surroundings… though he couldn't grasp much further than…

… scrapped machinery…

… burns on the walls… on the steel floor…

… a few operational machines beside him… though they seemed to be mal… _malfunct…_ (He couldn't get his head around the word, at the moment, but he recalled the Doc screaming it several times when his machines started going crazy…)

… his gloves…

He peered through his rapidly darkening vision.

… His gloves were gone…

… and his shoes were…

… his…

A small amount of adrenalin managed to prolong his fainting, and he peered closer at his feet, confusion beginning to ripple throughout him…

… that wasn't right… his shoes…

He blinked. Hard.

…his _feet_…

The hedgehog's laboured breathing stopped fast.

…his _legs…_ His… his _body…_

His eyes flickered, despite his renewed urge to maintain consciousness. He tried to hold onto the images that were relayed through his fading eyesight. It didn't make sense… Not at all…

… _**blue…?**_

Forcibly, a wave of blackness overtook Sonic the Hedgehog's vision, and he slipped away from the world, once more.

_888_

"_BLAST_ it!"

The machinery was sizzling everywhere. Electricity danced from contraption to contraption, as the foreign wave of energy swept over them. Bloodshot, glaring eyes peered through scratched and dented spectacles, observing them scorchingly, scanning them for any more malfunctions.

Many of them quieted down after about ten seconds. The remainder shut down instantly, and the scientist seethed at the fact that the majority of them would need a great deal of repairing before they would even come close to their former potential.

Dr Ivo Robotnik's fist clenched around one of his tools, now deemed useless as the machinery he had been working on had internally crumbled to pieces in response to the shockwave. He threw the spanner to the ground with a yell, and stood up abruptly as it impacted with a loud _clang_ upon the steel floor. He glared challengingly at a certain figure, who lay dormant within the opposite side of the room, searching for any more signs of consciousness.

But Sonic remained within his uncomfortable slumber.

_Blasted hedgehog…_

A frustrated sigh escaped him, only slightly dimming his seemingly uncontrollable temper. If anything, that seemed to be flaring up more than usual, as of late… and it wasn't benefiting him, all too well.

He was losing patience. Little by little…

…with his machinery…

… with the occasional outbursts of Chaos energy, stemming from a few failed experimentations…

… and with Sonic.

Five weeks had passed, since the treadmill incident. And they had been five gruelling, torturous weeks for both the Doctor and the young Mobian.

It hadn't taken much thought to realize that Sonic had been gravely affected by the unstable Chaos Energy within the hazardous experiment, in which the _both_ of them had lost all sense of reason and refused to stop their actions, all for the sake of knowing _what would come next._ It hadn't been long until their determination had promptly caused the machinery to overload on the account of one exploited Chaos Emerald, and destroy every functioning machine within a ten-foot radius.

So it was interesting that Sonic, being at ground zero of the explosion, hadn't been blown to a pile of ashes with a few quills sticking out.

The hedgehog had suffered his fair share of burns and scrapes from the flying shrapnel. Yet he hadn't been _seriously_ injured – his vital signs were all intact, and none of his limbs had been blown off. However, the scientist had come to observe one rather unusual side-effect that had resulted from the explosion.

Sonic's fur was now almost entirely a sharp, cobalt blue.

It had progressed incredibly slowly from the time of the explosion, in which much of the young Mobian's brown fur was still intact. But now, there was hardly any trace of the hedgehog's former coat – even his chest, arm and muzzle fur appeared to have lightened to a peach colour, perhaps also in response to the overwhelming surge of energy that had engulfed him from the inside-out.

Aside from this, another process was taking place. The hedgehog's multiple quills were steadily (seemingly) _fusing together._ Robotnik wasn't quite sure whether this was a result of energies attracting themselves together, but more and more quills seemed to be fusing together in different masses. On rare occasions, even two whole masses would fuse themselves. The scientist wasn't quite sure when this process would stop, but for now, only twelve large quills protruded from the hedgehog's head – whilst four remained on the back of his upper shoulders.

Aside from this strange metamorphosis, there was something else that was rather unsettling about Sonic, at the moment.

Since the incident regarding the Chaos energy… he had not been able to remain conscious for any more than ten to fifteen seconds. He hadn't even been able to maintain conversation with the scientist at all, during these rare times of recovery. Robotnik was confident that this ongoing state was due to the fact that the hedgehog had absorbed a massive amount of energy that would normally have overloaded his machines after a few seconds of sourcing them… Energy that was taking an unbearably long time to settle within its foreign vessel…

The Doctor clenched his teeth in rage.

…energy that _had_ to surge through his contraptions _every __**blasted**__ time that __**blasted**__ hedgehog simply HAD to REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS!_

A bitter, shaking sigh managed to leave him, and he slumped, his dejected gaze falling on the spanner he'd hurled away, lying motionless upon the cold steel.

He hadn't always been angry at the hedgehog.

Proof stemmed from the bandages that had been hurriedly wrapped around Sonic's head, arms, a leg and an ankle. Proof stemmed from the IV line he had spent an hour digging through his supplies for and placing it within the unconscious young Mobian's arm. Proof stemmed from the fact that he had hurriedly set up bedding and placed the Chaos energy-reactive hedgehog away from the machines, lest they exploded and damaged him further. (though later, it came to be for the wellbeing of his machines, only.)

Proof stemmed from the fact that Sonic the Hedgehog was still very much alive.

Robotnik glanced at the hedgehog's small form, his earlier rage resurfacing. Over time, guilt became indifference, indifference became impatience, and impatience became downright irritation…

It had been Sonic who had taken up his time and efforts, since the very day he had taken him in. And what had he received in return? Destroyed machinery. A loss of supplies, which had forced him to venture outside on occasion to search for fruits or anything that would be able to replace the lost rations. No respect at all, from the blasted hedgehog. Nothing. _He'd received NOTHING._

… Those words sounded wrong as soon as he'd thought them. But when he felt inclined to think on them further, he dismissed his efforts automatically, and began to venture over to the unconscious young Mobian, seething.

It was _so much easier_ to hate –

- Robotnik's stride was ceased to an abrupt halt, as his bloodshot eyes landed upon a certain shelf that neighboured his destination.

And his morbid resolve to _remove_ the hedgehog from his list of problems _permanently,_ flickered, and subsided. Temporarily, he reassured himself. But subsided, nonetheless.

He uttered a large sigh, before staring down at his somewhat distorted reflection upon the steel floor beneath him. Though somewhat scorched, he gave a visible cringe at his visage.

It wasn't the fact that he'd been putting on some weight, lately. It was more the fact that his lab coat was an absolute mess – burns and rips adorned it, once more – and he had not bothered to change out of his clothes since the day of the experiment, having been too engrossed in his work to apply the energies of the Chaos to several other of his contraptions…

And his eyes were becoming absolutely horrific to look at. Too bloodshot, his blue orbs becoming paler with each passing day…

He pushed up his spectacles slightly, and whatever dim light remained within the room reflected within them, and concealed his eyes, once more.

He needed to fix that…

…but not now.

Slowly, the tired old man walked over towards the shelf. It was full of… well, suffice to say - _junk._ Nothing really belonged there – just bits of machinery and old projects that had either been damaged or discarded, for lack of better use. Sometimes, when he ran low on materials, he would return here, and sift through his scrap metal, recycling and renewing (he had to maintain _some_ decency, after all) them for his newer projects. But now was not the occasion for _that,_ either.

The final shreds of his affection to the hedgehog took over him, that night.

Robotnik's singed gloved hand landed upon a pile of shreds (bearing a rather familiar pale blue) and two distinguishable soles, and closed over them.

The explosion had blown Sonic's shoes to shreds. The material that he had used to construct them, however, was intact. The durability remained, yet the scientist, inwardly awestruck at the hedgehog's ability to surpass the speed of sound, knew now that the old material would be nowhere near enough to remain intact after a few days of running at _that_ speed.

Robotnik stared at the shreds within his gloved hand. Then, he glanced over at the hedgehog once more. And then back to the shreds.

Almost as if he were in a numb, trancelike state, he slowly wandered over to his workbench. And though it was perhaps logical for him to be considering how he would increase the resistance and durability of the shoes, plus the capability on any kind of terrain, et cetera, et cetera…

… he instead found himself pondering what kind of colour would look good with a cobalt blue.

_888_

"…_Nngh…"_

It was one of those times, again. Slumber had only just decided to be merciful, and release him from its grasp, though the young hedgehog knew that it wouldn't be for long – at least, considering the record, so far…

Sonic drew in a shaky breath, his body sore and exhausted. His mind was clouded, once again, with confusion, though only this time, he made an effort to focus as much as he possibly could. He was growing increasingly sick of this state – nothing made sense to him at all… he couldn't speak, couldn't think properly, and couldn't even _remember_ the last time he'd eaten a Chilli Dog…

…No, wait… hadn't they run out of those…?

… Y-yeah… _ages_ ago… they'd…

_They…?_

… Yeah… yeah, _they…_ Him and… the Doc…

… Robotnik…

A weary hand rose, released from the dead weight that had bound it down for days on end. Yet as soon as it had rested upon his head, he found himself unable to budge, once more.

Well, it was a good a start as any.

Sonic's closed eyes shut more tightly, trying to focus, trying to get his mind back into gear. And with effort, he managed to slowly recollect his thoughts… the ones he'd gathered up the last time he'd managed to regain consciousness. It wasn't an easy task – the spasms of pain were starting to intensify within him, once more. After they reached their peak, Sonic would be forced back into oblivion – and there was no way he was going to wait for _that._

The whole experiment managed to reform within his mind. He drew in a shaking breath, knowing that his precious time awake would not last long at all at this rate…

… he'd been running… and the machine… The machine had exploded, he knew that…

… and…

…_Blue._

That blue flash of light…

Wait.

And his _body…_

Sonic, straining against the intensifying pain, slowly forced his eyes open.

That blue flash of light… had engulfed him, completely. He'd… he'd felt… _overwhelmed._

**He… he'd been **_**afraid.**_

**No… no he hadn't. He'd been… **_**amazed…**_

**No… **_**excited…**_

_**Unworthy…**_

_**Scared…**_

_**Honoured…**_

Sonic's eyes grew wide, in slow realization. He blinked, as hard as he possibly could, trying to regain his focus – but the inevitable shock of energy rippled throughout his system and he let out a yell.

The blue flash… the blue surge of energy…

… _his_ body…

The Chaos Energy… had dove straight into _his_ body…

He didn't know what that meant for him… he didn't know what was happening to him. He just knew that he was in pain, and he just wanted it to stop…

… but if this was _Chaos_ energy… a substance which he knew very little about…

… would it affect him the same way as the Doc? Would he become… unwell?

Sonic, through squinted eyes, caught sight of a golden glimmer, surging forth upon his newly-cobalt fur.

Would he…

… become a _monster?_

He managed to shake that thought out of his head, before drawing in another gasp – the energy had mellowed, surprisingly, and a numbness had managed to overcome the pain… He wasn't too sure if that was a good sign.

Well, he'd taken in a whole bunch of the stuff. And it was mostly harming him physically, as far as he could tell – his mind still felt the same as it always had been… except he'd never been in so much _pain…_

Sonic shut his eyes.

_888_

"_People like me, I guess. I can run, for a long time. But if I run too fast… I guess my body gets too tired." Mighty's expression screwed up in thought, trying to find the right words. "I mean, I guess I wanna run, but my body doesn't. Keeps hurting, getting more and more tired, and tries to stop me."_

" – _And then it does." Ray pointed out. "If someone's running too fast, and their body can't take it, then it makes them stop. By makin' 'em fall asleep, I guess."_

_888_

The hedgehog thought as deeply as he possibly could on that memory… Not because he was fatigued on running, but because… well, he'd _felt_ that way for the past few days, or weeks, or however long he'd been like this. He'd always been pushing himself to _stay awake…_ go get up, right then and there. He didn't want to fall asleep again…

… but his body wouldn't let him. It wouldn't let him budge, at all.

Sonic cringed against another jab of energy from his insides, but then, he inhaled as deeply and as slowly as he possibly could…

… and for the first time since the experiment, willingly tried to relax.

It wasn't easy. Spasms were still occurring within his body, and the anxiety that had risen due to the fact that the Chaos Energy was inside him and that very moment didn't help much at all. Yet he tried to relax, all the same. It wasn't like him – he personally wanted to stand up, and shake off the whole thing…

Yet it had been almost a whole minute since he'd stayed awake… and he was willing to extend his consciousness even further.

_Just relax. Don't tense. Don't fight against it._

If he did, it would fight back, wouldn't it? His body would start wearing out again. And he'd fall asleep, once again.

Sonic breathed in deeply, once more… and this time, his weary senses were beginning to sharpen to the world, once more. His sense of hearing wasn't nearly so muffled, anymore… and his blurred vision was finally starting to clear up, consistently, this time.

_Just… calm down. I don't know what's going to happen… but calm down. It's gonna calm with me, too, right? That's what it feels like…_

The pain within his insides began to dull down, and slowly – ever so slowly, subside. The young Mobian continued to breathe at the same pace, though he couldn't help but allow relief and excitement to flood his chest when he found that he could move his arms and legs, slightly.

_It'll… calm down, right…? Because…_

Sonic's body, for the first time in what felt like months, finally managed to fully relax. A sigh escaped him, and his eyes closed in heavy relief. He felt… _normal_ now. He didn't even…

… well…

… it was like the energy wasn't even _there._ The only evidence that it had even struck him in the first place was the dull achiness of his small form…

Plus…

His eyes shot open.

Abruptly, he sat up straight, but was struck with a dizzy spell at the motion and found himself leaning forth slightly, shaking his head to rid himself of any further disorientation. Regaining his alertness, and blinking hard, he stared down at his body, in proper observation, his quills sticking up, slightly.

… No… he _hadn't_ been hallucinating all this time.

He stared at his blue-furred legs, his usually unkempt coat having become undeniably sleek. He glanced down at his chest and arm fur, which had only become a slightly lighter tint of peach…

His eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head, side to side.

… But his back felt… _really_ strange…

His hands instinctively rose up past his ears, before landing on something that felt incredibly foreign to him.

Sonic blinked, his fur standing up on end.

What had happened to his _quills!?_ He shook his head, realizing that they were a _lot_ bigger than they used to be – but there were also a lot less of them, too.

They still remained quite short, though… more or less…

Removing his hands from his head, Sonic's gaze fell back onto his body, as he leaned back on his arms, trying to recover slightly from his shock. Personally, he didn't know what to think of it. It sure _looked_ cool… but it seemed so strange to him.

It had to be from the Chaos Energy, though, right? Hedgehogs didn't turn blue all-of-a-sudden, did they? At least, not from where _he_ was from…

Sonic held out a hand before him.

He couldn't… _feel_ the energy. But he knew it was there… Not because his fur had turned blue, just like that Emerald, but…

… _It was like it was a part of him, now… Somehow._

The hedgehog sat in silence with that thought within his head for a few moments longer, before exhaling slightly, his ears drooping.

Or not. It sounded too corny, especially to him.

"_Finally awake."_

Sonic almost suffered a coronary when that familiar, yet snarling voice reached his ears. He stumbled to his feet, only to encounter a second dizzy spell, and topple off the steel table upon which he'd lain for the past few weeks. He landed hard on his head with a yell, as pain shot up his small form, and he curled there, slightly, grasping his head, teeth gritted in pain.

He could've sworn he'd heard them chattering, slightly…

"_Get up."_

Sonic's eyes shot open, as he glanced up at the voice's source, swallowing dryly. He was still lying upon the floor, facing the scientist from upside-down. His ears cocked slightly backwards, and he gave a weak smile – though his heart was thudding faster and faster in fear.

That was his _bad mood_ voice. And its viciousness had increased almost tenfold.

"H… Hey, Doc." He whispered, the flicker of a smile vanishing from his face as soon as he caught a proper glance at Robotnik.

His eyes widened.

"_GET UP."_

Sonic immediately complied, scrambling to his feet, and trying desperately to get over the second wave of dizziness. Yet he didn't know if he _wanted_ to look at the doctor again.

The hedgehog swallowed.

His _eyes…_

His eyes looked _terrible…_

Not to mention, he'd put on quite a bit of weight…

His mindset was interrupted when something suddenly hit his head at a lightning speed. Stumbling under the blow, Sonic glanced down to the floor, grasping his forehead in pain, to where two, rather brightly coloured red objects lay.

He blinked.

"_I am giving you a compromise, __**hedgehog."**_ Came Robotnik's twisted voice. The young Mobian hurriedly grabbed the pair of shoes, only to stare at them, in a sad confusion. Then, he glanced up at the doctor once more, for once tolerating his bloodshot eyes. He tried to see the kindly old man that had picked him up, nearly two years ago, and taken him in. He tried to find any sense of compassion, like in the old days…

… If it was still there…

Sonic's heart sank.

… he couldn't see it.

"_You take those shoes, and run as __**fast**__ as you possibly can __**away from my sight…"**_ the scientist began, earning a shocked pair of jade orbs staring at him in fright. Sonic slowly shook his head. No…

No, no, no…

He hadn't wanted this… he couldn't understand…

It wasn't going to end _here,_ was it? He'd always known, as the days passed by, that something would reach its limit – that _something_ would happen, yet…

"Doc… I-I…"

… Not like this. What had he done wrong? How could he make up for everything he'd done – whatever they'd been? What would make things the way they were, all those years ago? What did he need to do to stop this scenario from playing out any further?

He clutched the shoes, tightly.

"… _or, you remain here and find yourself __**blasted**__ to oblivion."_

…How did this happen? The Chaos Energy? Maybe… but…

He shut his eyes, knowing full well that, regardless of the situation, Sonic was still very much himself…

… _how can I tell? The Doc… I've always trusted the Doc… I always… I always thought he'd be okay… and __**now…**_

"Why…?" He croaked, his voice cracking to a point beyond recognition.

"_You, hedgehog, have always __**tried my patience."**_ Robotnik sneered, taking another step forward towards the young Mobian, who glanced up, eyes still filled with a distraught kind of confusion. _"I have had __**enough**__ of your disobedience, your attitude, the way you take up my precious __**time!**__ HALF of my contraptions have been damaged beyond repair, thanks to your ridiculous __**antics!**__ Thanks to all that __**Chaos energy**__ being expelled every SINGLE time you AWAKEN!_"

A gloved finger pointed past the collection of burnt-out machinery (which Sonic now observed with horror) and towards the automatic steel door, which had already slid open. The skies were overcast.

"_I am giving you a chance to __**run,**__ Sonic. And don't you DARE try coming back, unless you prefer option B."_

The hedgehog swallowed, dryly. Then, without a breath's hesitation, he dropped his shoes to the ground and quickly slipped them on, his head still down – moreso focusing on the steel floor than the scientist's final and reluctant gift.

"_Doc… if there's any thing I can…"_

"_THREE."_

Sonic's eyes shot up once more, almost angry now.

"_I-If you __**tell**__ me what I can do - "_

"_TWO."_

The hedgehog's foot stomped forward, trying to force up a glare towards Robotnik, though his blurring vision as his eyes grew steadily more watery proved he was failing to make any impact, whatsoever.

"_LISTEN TO ME! If you could just -"_

"_**ONE."**_

No protest. No words.

Nothing.

The world was silent, save for a distant rumble that seemed rather muffled to his ears. The air around him was thin, yet it streaked through his fur with extreme ferocity as the laboratory, Robotnik's snarling face, and the world around him became a grey blur. It was all around him, distorted and screaming faintly within his folded-back ears…

… and then it was all gone. He was airbourne, already off the plateau upon which the laboratory dome was situated. He had run away so fast, without any hesitation at all, without any thought – it had been entirely automatic.

Sonic's mind was completely numb as he descended through the treetops of the forests that surrounded him. He nearly forgot to roll up into a ball in order to cushion his impact, yet it seemed to hardly matter to him at all, at the time.

He was dazed, as soon as he'd broken into a run from his curled position – but he placed no effort in the action, like he usually did. Instead, he slowed to a clumsy jog, and eventually staggered to an unsteady halt.

His ears twitched in slight sensitivity, and he realized that he'd been too caught up within his mood to realise it was raining. Not heavily – not like the times the Green Hill Zone had flooded – but it was raining, nonetheless, a sprinkling shower that was slowly soaking him wet.

Sonic watched the glassy droplets slide onto his shoes, the ground becoming muddy around him. Yet he slowly mustered up the strength to trudge forward, and eventually found a log underneath the shelter of a nearby tree. Here, he sat, his mind devoid of thought for the moment.

To be frank, he didn't know _what_ to think. It was all too much, at the moment.

His fur, changing colour. The Chaos energy. Robotnik… chasing him out…

He felt his eyes burning slightly, yet he shook his head, trying to snap himself out of the mood. Crying had never done him any good. If he started now, then maybe he wouldn't be able to stop. Besides, it hadn't ever solved _anything_ for him. What use would it be, now?

Even as these thoughts travelled through his head, and his young face struggled to remain straight, tears were already dribbling down his muzzle. His makeshift façade began to crumble, and his eyes began to close, his face scrunching up and his small body beginning to tremble.

_I don't get it…_

He drew in a shuddering breath and let out a small sob.

…_I don't understand…_

…_what __**happened?**_

It was the first time he had cried in years.

And it would be the last time he would cry for several more.


End file.
